"It Will Compel You To See India Not Many People Know", SBI Youth For India Fellow Moksh Naidu

"Village Tuburuda that comes under Laxmipur gram panchayat mainly consists of the Sora Tribe.", he tells The Logical Indian as he also struggles with network connectivity. "Apart from the Internet connectivity, basic government schemes are also unavailable for the villagers." He goes on, "This entire region is cyclone prone. The electricity and grid connection is not very smooth either. These are just some of the challenges that people living in this Panchayat face. Most people here are marginal farmers. They are subsistence farmers with under two acres of land. Mostly terrace farming is done, and farmers depend on the once-a-year rainfed crop as there is no irrigation system."

What's The SBI Youth For India Fellowship Like?

The fellowship powers the vision and gives way to the ideas of young Indians with problem-solving attitudes. Moksh, who is from IIT-Guwahati, tells The Logical Indian, "See, you don't go in with a manual or a list of instructions, you don't go in with 'one' problem in your mind." He goes on, "The interesting thing is, that on the ground you do not have the scope to flex your degree and domain expertise that much. The fellowship gives you the space to test yourself on how you can identify and solve the most pressing issues of the community that come your way." Moksh, with his impressive clarity of mind, says, "Look, you are not expected to solve the issue completely, even if you can make a difference at a micro level, it does the job. Our mentors from the NGO Gram Vikas have always told us that our solutions need to be targeted and specific. It could be as small as a hamlet."

What's Your Project Like In Tubruda Village?

Moksh shared, "Well, as I said, the major issue here is the connectivity. Without any internet connection, the youth of this village remains disconnected from the world. This means that they miss out on the opportunities of filling out forms for better jobs and education. This renders the youth majorly disadvantaged." "There are just three internet points in this Panchayat, and to reach there, one has to climb down three hills. Even in those internet points, you don't get blazing fast internet. It's difficult even to load regular web pages. Therefore the project which I am doing with Gram Vikas NGO is to build a micro-communication system.", he adds. Moksh tells us that the micro-communication system is an offline system to help the village youth apply for jobs, studies, etc. He tells us that it is one of the first villages where this project is being implemented.

Would You Recommend SBI Youth For India Fellowship?

"Absolutely! Out of the many fellowships in India, SBI Youth for India fellowship introduces you to another dimension of reality which people do not know. You get to know the India which most urban youths have never known.", Moksh shares with The Logical Indian. He continues, "If I talk on a more functional aspect, I believe if you are someone who wants to go into governance, public policy or development sector, the fellowship gives you the much-needed grassroots exposure to pursue these careers." The 13-month SBI Youth For India Fellowship still has more! Moksh says, "In the entire process, you learn to think in a more decentralised way. It compels you to find a more decentralized solution that's more of a bottom-up approach than a top-to-bottom one. It gives you an outlook which a young person of today's India must necessarily have!"

The Youth For India Fellowship is indeed an opportunity to go beyond one's comfort zone and discover unique and targeted problems of the communities. The idea is to put in place the micro-systems which can scale and foster the much-needed development and progress within the rural framework which can lead to rural development. The Logical Indian congratulates SBI Youth For India fellow Moksh Naidu for being a passionate, bright, young mind of India who has the drive to make a difference. The Logical Indian also appreciates the SBI Youth For India Fellowship for fuelling the young changemakers of the country.