Mohandas Pai At SOIL: Technology Can Cut Out Middlemen In Rural Sector

The School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL) in the New Delhi Capital Region, India hosted the 7th ‘Inspired Leadership Conference’ (ILC), on its campus in Gurgaon. The theme this year was ‘Inspired Leadership for Digital India’. The two-day conference brought together business leaders and intellectuals, as well as young professionals and students.

Mr. TV Mohandas Pai, Chairman Manipal Global Foundation, Mr. Osama Manzar, Founder Digital Empowerment Foundation, Ministry of Communication & IT, Govt. of India, Mr. Puneet Bhatia, Director, Emerging Technologies & Digital Practice, KPMG, Mr. Pratik Kumar, CEO Wipro Infrastructure Engineering; Mr. Subroto Gupta, Digital Transformation & Innovation Leader, Genpact & Dr. Vinnie Jauhri, Director, Education Advocacy Microsoft Corporation were among the key participants at the two day event.

On Day One, in his inaugural address, T V Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global Foundation, held forth on ‘Digital India: Leadership Challenges and Opportunities’. He fascinated the audience by narrating the many disruptions that have ended up, over the centuries, transforming the world and the direction of history.

“Educational institutes are accepting digital with open arms. It is humbling to see the disruption brought about by Digital India in the society,” added Pai. He went on to share his firm belief that, “Very soon, India will become a global digital power with the kind of progress it is making with the new generation”.

“Disruptive technology has penetrated the rural sector and is working towards the elimination of middlemen and bringing profit directly to the manufacturer of the product,” said Pai.

Students were actively involved in the event and two SOIL students, Bhavishya Raghuraman & Alka Dixit presented a research paper on “Digital India- Winning Strategies across Business and Social Sector”.

Rounding off the day was a panel discussion on readying India for a digital revolution, and an ‘open space’ on how Digital India is impacting sectors as diverse as the media, e-commerce, manufacturing, logistics, FMCG, BFSI, advertising, IT, telecom, and travel and hospitality, facilitated by Mr. Anil Sachdev, Founder & CEO, SOIL. 

On Day Two, the keynote address was given by Osama Manzar, Founder, Digital Empowerment Foundation, ministry of communication and IT, who spoke about the social divide, and how the Digital India initiative can bridge this gulf, but not in the absence of a ‘human connect’.

Shriram, Vigneshwar G and Rethina Kumar, students of SOIL, presented a white paper on the Impact of Digital India on Education Sector. A panel discussion on Leveraging Digital India for the Social Sector- Education, E-Governance, Healthcare, and Impacting Rural India witnessed a conversation between Mr. Kumar Abhishek, Founder of ToneTag and SOIL alumni – Dr. Vinnie Jauhri, of Microsoft, Mr. Vishnu Karthik of Heritage Group of Schools, Mr. Anirban Mukerji of Qualcomm and Dr. Vimarsh Raina of Bharat Stem Cell.