Decoding Impact
By Sattva Knowledge Institute
Decoding ImpactMay 14, 2024
Decoding mafias, national heroes, and the role of government in Education ft. Anil Swarup
"There are three types of people who work in education today: those who know the reality of a classroom, there are those who know the reality of grassroots, but there are very few who know the reality of how government looks at education."
In this very special episode of Decoding Impact, host Rathish Balakrishnan is joined by Anil Swarup, Founder Chairman, Nexus of Good; Former Secretary, School Education (2016-18) & Coal (2014-16), and Author. Mr. Swarup joins us to help us decode the complex Education sector in India today and understand more about:
ā¢ The visible and invisible challenges in Education
ā¢ The role of the government between Delhi and the hinterlands
ā¢ How to enable young adults thrive in the Indian Education system
ā¢ Defining roles for different stakeholders in the Education sector
Tune in to the latest episode of Decoding Impact today to understand more about the government's role in Education as well as some unique stories from Mr. Swarup's incredible BhÄrat YÄtra across the nation!
Explore some of our SKI products related Education:
ā¢ Promising Avenues: Landscape of School to Work Transition in India
ā¢ Enabling Career Guidance and Mentorship for Smooth School-to-Work Transition
ā¢ Advancing Gender Equality in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Education in India
ā¢ Decoding ASER for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Outcomes with Dr Rukmini Banerji
Guest: Anil Swarup
Host: Rathish Balakrishnan
Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Produced by: Pickle Jar Media
Chapters
0:00 Precap
1:36 Welcome to Decoding Impact
1:50 Topic & Guest Introduction
03:12 Anil Swarup's journey into Education in India
06:44 The mafias in Education
14:58 Making Education politically salient
18:23 Anil Swarup's journey through education on the ground
24:31 Is Education enabling young adults in India today?
30:49 How to develop a winning aspiration for young people in India school systems
34:13 From policy to implementation
36:55 Addressing the government's mistrust in the private sector
39:58 Bringing in role clarity in school systems
44:23 Reflecting on the role of the facilitator and counselling
47:00 Understanding the role of different stakeholders in relation to the government
49:12 Who should play what role
52:10 State vs. central government capacity
54:00 Whose accountable for state outcomes?
56:30 Summary and thanks
58:11 General outro
#RapidFire ft. Neelkanth Mishra
Get to know more about our latest guest featured on Decoding Impact, ā Neelkanth Mishra, through this revealing rapid fire! Listen to the latest episode of Decoding Impact!: š“ ā ā Youtubeā ā š£ ā ā Apple Podcastā ā šµ ā ā Amazonā ā š ā ā Website
Decoding the economics of MSMEs and why they should leverage Digital Public Infrastructure ft. Neelkanth Mishra
The story of a digitised India being catalysed through Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is all around us through examples like UPI and Aadhaar, but they have an equally critical role to play in enabling the economic powerhouse that are MSMEs.
MSMEs are a popular topic, and one we have discussed a few times on Decoding Impact itself, but in this episode of we are trying to understand the role DPIs can play in enabling greater and more effective access to capital for MSMEs. To share his expert inputs on the podcast, host Rathish Balakrishnan speaks to Mr. Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist, Axis Bank and Head of Global Research, Axis Capital. Mr. Mishra helps us understand: ā¢ The context of MSMEs in India today ā¢ The existing capital access and supporting infrastructure, including global examples ā¢ The key tailwinds that can enable MSMEs to grow, like DPI
Through out Mr. Mishra shares tangible examples for how MSMEs operate, can scale, and their challenges. Tune in to the latest episode of Decoding Impact today!
Explore some of our SKI products related to this topic: ā¢ SKI Content on Digital Public Infrastructure and Goods
ā¢ Decoding Digital Public Goods & Digital Public Infrastructure with Dr. Pramod Varma
ā¢ Decoding Indiaās DPI Learnings for the Global South with Prof. S Rajagopalan
ā¢ Decoding Account Aggregators with Shalini Gupta
Guest: Neelkanth Mishra Host: Rathish Balakrishnan Producer: Meenakshi Iyer Produced by: Pickle Jar Media Chapters: 00:00 - Precap 01:21 - Welcome 01:31 - Topic and Guest Intro 03:04 - Neelkanth Mishra's journey from engineer to economist 05:42 - How will MSMEs contribute to India's 2047 vision? 08:44 - Understanding the role of micro enterprises amongst MSMEs 11:36 - Enabling MSMEs to flourish 15:22 - The mix of micro, small, and medium enterprises 20:15 - MSME's current access to capital & challenges 26:22 - Does India have the plumbing to enable small & growing businesses? 30:10 - The debt capital needed for MSMEs 34:31 - How countries have funded MSMEs traditionally 44:21 - How India is enabling MSMEs through technology 48:44 - Three key areas to unlock value for MSMEs through DPIs 58:34 - Solving for the MSME access to capital problem at scale 01:02:10 - What is the promise of DPI moving forward? 01:05:08 - Summary and thanks
#RapidFire ft. Ramraj Pai
Get to know more about our latest guest featured on Decoding Impact, Ramraj Pai, through this revealing rapid fire! Listen to the latest episode of Decoding Impact!: š“ ā Youtubeā š£ ā Apple Podcastā šµ ā Amazonā š ā Website
Decoding the Rupee for Rupee impact of blended finance ft. Ramraj Pai
At the core of enabling sustainable development it comes down to how it is funded that determines the success or failure of making true and lasting progress. Currently we face a significant challenge with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, as there is a huge constraint in the lack of available funds to meet out the expense of realising these goals. So how can finance maximise impact? In this latest episode of Decoding Impact we explore the topic of Blended Finance as a potential solution that can diversify sources of capital, from both commercial and public stakeholders. Through this discussion we break down and help listeners understand what is blended finance, the nuances behind its application, the risks, and where it should not be used, the enabling ecosystem that would allow blended finance to scale, and the regulatory challenges. Joining host Rathish Balakrishnan to discuss this topic is Ramraj Pai, Senior Advisor and ex-CEO at the Impact Investors Council (IIC). From his experience in social financing, Ramraj is able to shed light on this seemingly obscure topic and explain it in a very practical and example-based manner. If you want to understand blended finance, or look at how capital can enable impact with a rupee for rupee value, tune into this episode of Decoding Impact today! Explore some of our SKI products related to this topic: ā¢ Decoding Green Growth with Amitabh Kantā¢ Decoding Climate Finance with Varad Pande ā¢ Guidebook: CSR and Corporate Philanthropy Towards Innovation ā¢ Investing for Impact: Social Stock Exchange in India Guest: Ramraj Pai Host: Rathish Balakrishnan Producer: Meenakshi Iyer Produced by: Pickle Jar Media
Chapters:
00:00 - Precap
01:28 - Welcome
01:38 - Topic & Guest Intro
03:05 - Ramraj Pai's journey in blended finance
06:51 - Lessons from working in the impact ecosystem
12:25 - Blended Finance for dummies
18:48 - Understanding four essential truths of blended
finance
22:29 - The nuances of stakeholders in blended finance
31:14 - Summarising insights around blended finance and considering the larger framework
36:12 - Categories for blended finance application
39:41 - The role of blended finance to scale innovation
42:20 - What is limiting the supply and demand of blended finance?
47:03 - The mindset shift needed for development financing to be catalytic & innovative
50:44 - Where can funders begin their blended finance journey and how can the government enable them?
55:44 - Summarising insights on how to enable the ecosystem and infrastructure for blended finance
59:04 - Regulatory challenges
01:04:36 - Blended finance and the four stages of the innovation life cycle
01:06:54 - Summary of key insights and enabling domestic philanthropy and the Social Stock Exchange
01:12:56 - Summary and thanks
#RapidFire ft. Kaushal Jaiswal
Get to know more about our latest guest featured on Decoding Impact, Mr. Kaushal Jaiswal, through this revealing rapid fire! Listen to the latest episode of Decoding Impact!: š“ Youtube š£ Apple Podcast šµ Amazon š Website
Decoding micro-irrigation for farmers and its role in India's water crisis ft. Kaushal Jaiswal
A part of solving Indiaās water crisis lies on its farms. From soil, to grain, cultivation, to harvesting, none knows the agrarian land in India and its potential more than our farmers. By empowering farmers with technology that will help them with greater yield, while enabling water conservation for the nation, the agriculture sector in India could be transformed.
The solution? Micro-irrigation. How has irrigation and the water problem evolved together in India? What is the promise of micro-irrigation? What are the barriers preventing this solution from scaling? Join Rathish Balakrishnan in the latest episode of Decoding Impact in discussion with Kaushal Jaiswal, MD at Rivulis Irrigation, for this practical discussion on micro-irrigation, the potential of Indiaās farmers, and a way forward to conserve water in India.
Explore some of our SKI products related to this topic:
ā¢ Transforming Crop Cultivation: Advancing Water Efficiency in Indian Agriculture
ā¢ Worsening Water Stress in Agriculture: Is There a Glimmer of Hope?
Guest: Kaushal Jaiswal
Host: Rathish Balakrishnan
Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Produced by: Pickle Jar Media
Time Stamps & Chapters:
00:00 - Precap
01:35 - Welcome
01:55 - Topic intro
03:02 - Guest intro
07:08 - How has discussing irrigation and the water problem evolved in India
10:00 - Micro-irrigation as a practice in the North vs. the South of India
13:01 - The invisible cost of water in agriculture
14:45 - Understanding the value of drip irrigation
19:44 - Are benefits of micro-irrigation visible to the farmer?
23:08 - Why is the adoption of micro-irrigation so low in India today?
30:59 - The role of AI in democratising micro-irrgation systems and set-up.
33:07 - The maintenance of micro-irrigation systems
35:27 - The solution to scaling micro-irrigation
38:53 - Reducing the friction for financing & the role of subsidies
41:58 - Scaling micro-irrigation for 1 million farmers
43:18 - The most investable solutions to scale micro-irrigation in agriculture
45:09 - Crops to prioritise for micro-irrigation
48:22 - Regions to prioritise for micro-irrigation
49:19 - The market for micro-irrigation in East India
52:23 - Financing micro-irrigation through climate financing
56:05 - Summary and Thanks
58:57 - Outro
Decoding the systemic challenges of women in agriculture ft. Ireena Vittal
The recent interim budget focused on how to enable women farmers, looking at how they can be raised up along with other smallholder farmers across India. Today, in certain key agricultural value chains like sugarcane, women make up 50% of the workforce. Yet their work is significantly undervalued as they face a 60% pay gap. This speaks to the deeper systemic challenges women in agriculture face, with their role and contributions being largely obscured. In the first episode of season 3 of Decoding Impact Rathish Balakrishnan spoke with Ireena Vittal, one of India's most respected independent consultants and advisors in agriculture, emerging markets and urban development. Through the episode they discussed: ā¢ How certain key agricultural value chains operate ā¢ Making all agricultural value chains equitable for all smallholder farmers regardless of gender ā¢ How women in agriculture can help themselves within these value chains through self help groups and collectivisation ā¢ The nuanced interplay of social norms impacting the economic empowerment of women Explore some of our SKI products related to this topic: ā¢ Gender Inclusivity in Commercial Agriculture ā¢ Formalising the Female Workforce in Indian Agriculture Guest: Ireena Vittal Host: Rathish Balakrishnan Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Produced by: Pickle Jar Media
Time Stamps & Chapters: 0:00 - Precap 1:20 - Introduction 2:59 - Guest Introduction 3:33 - Ireena Vittalās Journey 5:00 - The invisibility of women in Agriculture 8:37 - The power equation for women in Agriculture 13:20 - The power of Collectives for women in Agriculture 16:27 - The systemic issues in agriculture - How do we address these? 17:28 - Understanding different agriculture value chains (part 1) 23:33 - Understanding different agriculture value chains (part 2 31:04 - Challenges in the Indian agriculture industry inhibiting smallholder farmers) 36:09 - The role of businesses in catalysing equitable agriculture 40:57 - Women in agriculture need better pay 45:17 - Women need to participate in the market 51:53 - Solutions to empower women in agriculture 55:01 - Shifting the gender equation at the intermediary layer in agriculture 58:12 - Summary & thanks 58:52 - Outro
Decoding Account Aggregators with Shalini Gupta
Despite gains in its financial inclusion journey, access to financial services is limited to 86% of India's population. Access to credit specifically is a persistent challenge, reflected in the unmet credit need of Rs 25 lakh crores - aggravated by disaggregated data and tedious data sharing processes.
Account aggregators are introducing open banking in India. They have the potential to revolutionise the credit market, empowering millions of customers to access and share their financial data across institutions in a secure and efficient manner.
To talk more about account aggregators and how these can enable financial digital inclusion, we have with us Shalini Gupta, the Head of Strategy at Sahamati. Sahamati is a member-driven industry alliance formed to facilitate adoption of the account aggregator ecosystem in India.
---- For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our ā Websiteā , ā LinkedInā , ā Instagramā , and ā Twitterā . Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā Linkedin | Twitter Guest: Shalini Gupta | LinkedIn Producer: Anagha Wankhede Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu ---- Content Sections 00:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
00:48 - Introduction to the topic and guest
02:32 - What is an Account Aggregator?
06:40 - What financial information is viable and who will use it?
10:21 - Personal Finance Management (PFM) Use Cases
13:14 - How big is the AA system today?
15:37 - A User's Journey in the AA Framework
18:17 - Common AA Apps
18:59 - Value in Data Sharing
24:53 - Resolving Conflicts of Purpose between Financial Entities
28:40 - A New Approach to Gauging Financial Health
34:36 - What is Sahamati's Role?
37:59 - How can Account Aggregators Unlock Value?
50:30 - The Interplay of OCEN and AA
55:57 - PFM for Women
59:11 - Account Aggregators for the Government
1:03:01 - What needs to fall in place?
1:08:02 - Employing Imagination to Utilise AA
1:13:54 - The Role of Philanthropic Capital
1:19:02 - Summary and outro
Decoding a Life Cycle Approach to Mental Health with Dr. Pratima Murthy
India is grappling with a severe mental health crisis, with over 197 million Indians diagnosed with mental disorders, exacerbated by a wide treatment gap. The good news is that there is growing recognition of the importance of mental health in the country. However, a thorough understanding of what it entails, what forms mental well-being takes, how it should be approached and conceptualised, is lacking.
Mental well-being is intertwined with economic, cultural, social and other factors at various stages of an individualās life. Effective interventions, therefore, should be contextualised to these aspects. How can public policy, market solutions and community solutions be designed with these in mind?
Joining us on World Mental Health Day to share her reflections on making mental health a key part of Indiaās development agenda, is Dr Pratima Murthy. Dr. Murthy is the Director of NIMHANS, where she has been pivotal in initiating Tele Manas, and establishing the state-of-the-art Centre for Addiction. She has also worked with the National Human Rights Commission to improve care for persons with mental illness.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our ā Websiteā , LinkedInā , ā Instagramā , and ā Twitterā .
Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā Linkedin | Twitter
Guest: Dr. Pratima Murthy | Linkedin
Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections:
00:48 Introduction to the topic and guest
02:14 Why is mental well-being critical?
04:17 Recognising interconnections
08:10 Vocabulary and mental models
12:22 Context-specific intervention design
15:38 Designing population-scale interventions
23:11 Perinatal well-being
26:06 Mental health in schools
36:01 Mental health in workplaces
39:42 Prisons as a crucial locus
44:55 Mental health for the elderly
47:54 Improving access to care
51:41 Designing mental well-being models
58:22 Recommendations for philanthropy
1:02:15 Summary and Outro
Decoding Universal Health Coverage with Dr. Nachiket Mor (Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Universal Health Coverage, host Rathish Balakrishnan and guest Dr Nachiket Mor dive into the need to define the right problems while taking a digital public goods approach to UHC, challenges with financing, and lessons from other countries. They also discuss how the private and public sectors can rethink existing approaches to healthcare delivery, and collaborate to implement an efficient working model for UHC in India.
Dr. Nachiket Mor is trained as an economist. His current work is principally focused on the design of national and regional health systems. He is a Visiting Scientist at The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy at IIIT Bangalore. He is also a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Reimagining India's Health System.
Listen to Part 1 here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rsqLW3phlu3XLRgX1kteg
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our ā Websiteā , ā LinkedIn, ā Instagramā , and ā Twitterā .
Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā Linkedin | Twitter
Guest: Dr. Nachiket Mor | Linkedin | Twitter
Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections
0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
0:48 - Introduction to topic and guest
02:13 - Accelerating UHC with Digital Public Goods
07:02 - Articulation of DPGS
16:04 -Promises of Healthcare
19:23 - Financing in UHC
23:21 - Incentives for public health
26:35 - Managed Care
29:56 - Making Strategic Purchases effective
34:30 - District as a unit
35:37 - Private Sector Participation Models
44:23 - White spaces
47:40 - Imagining a Working Model in Health
52:06 - Summary and Outro
Decoding Universal Health Coverage with Dr. Nachiket Mor (Part 1)
Globally, universal health coverage (UHC) has been highlighted as an important goal, because of its close links to poverty reduction and potential to enhance the economic growth of countries.
From public to private health care, across primary, secondary, and tertiary care, and whether we look at the challenges and opportunities for physicians or community health workers, the promise of UHC is heady and exciting. Through this two-part discussion with Dr. Nachiket Mor, not only an expert in health, but someone who is deeply passionate about health and health systems, host Rathish Balakrishnan explores the plethora of trade-offs and barriers to realising UHC in India.
In part one of this discussion Dr. Mor helps us understand what universal health coverage is, highlights existing bright spots, looks at the role of primary care, and discusses how we can talilor an approach to UHC that leverages Indiaās strengths.
Dr. Nachiket Mor is trained as an economist. His current work is principally focused on the design of national and regional health systems. He is a Visiting Scientist at The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy at IIIT Bangalore. He is also a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Reimagining India's Health System.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our ā Websiteā , ā Linkedinā ,Ā ā Instagramā , and ā Twitterā .
- Host:Ā Rathish Balakrishnan | ā LinkedinĀ |Ā Twitter
- Guest:Ā Dr. Nachiket Mor |Ā Linkedin | Twitter
- Producer:Ā Meenakshi Iyer
- Audio Engineer & Editor:Ā Abhilash Raikar
- Designer:Ā Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
- 0:47 - Introduction to topic and guest
- 02:47 - Where is India in relation to Universal Health Coverage today?
- 09:58 - The People vs. Politics of UHC
- 13:14 - Building things for the greater good rather than to feel good
- 15:55 - Key levers to think about UHC
- 20:45 - Understanding the Indian context
- 21:57 - What is working well & opportunites in India
- 24: 57 - More examples in India of what is working well
- 26:52 - Building a multidisciplinary approach top down
- 29:52 - The missing tissue between ideas and intent
- 32:05 - Finding solutions and how to think about financing UHC
- 36:44 - Evolving the role of community health aids for UHC
- 43:21 - Learnability of community health aids
- 44:42 - The effect of localising community workers
- 46:11 - Avoiding the pitfalls of isomorphic mimicry
- 50:52 - Reflection and opportunities
- 52:41 - Understanding the true cost of UHC for India
- 01:00:08 - We need a high trust system to realise UHC
- 01:05:33 - Summary and Outro
Decoding Agricultural Technology (Agritech) with Parmesh Shah
Technology has the potential to revolutionise Indian agriculture. There are innovations in seed and bioengineering platforms, use of robots and AI and blockchain that are enhancing efficiency and transparency in the sector. India's agritech industry comprises over 1300 companies and is projected to reach over ā¹1 trillion by 2025. The recent 2023-24 budget allocated INR 450 crores to the Digital Agriculture Mission and INR 600 crores for technology driven agriculture promotion.
However, despite these promising tailwinds, the low adoption of technology by farmers remains a major challenge, and agritech penetration in India remains abysmally low at around 1%. In today's episode of Decoding Impact, we try to understand the potential of a platform-based approach for agritech, the importance of directing the right capital to address the right issues, and how we can take a systems approach to identify key enablers for the successful scale up of agritech.
Our guest for this episode is Mr. Parmesh Shah, the Global Lead for Data, Digital Agriculture and Innovation at the Agriculture and Food Global Practice of the World Bank. Mr. Shah is currently managing a global programme on scaling up data-driven digital agriculture, involving data platforms and establishing ecosystems for innovation, entrepreneurship and incubation across 38 countries.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on ourĀ Websiteā ,Ā Linkedinā ,Ā Instagram, andĀ Twitterā .
- Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā LinkedinĀ |Ā Twitter
- Guest: Parmesh Shah | Linkedin | Twitter
- Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
- Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
- Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections:
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction0:48 - Introduction to topic and guest02:37 - The current agri tech landscape
- 05:58 - Defining agtech solutions & tech
- 10:03 - Successful solution categories
- 13:53 - The need for physical plus digital infrastructure
- 23:41 - 5 key principles
- 25:46 - Systemic challenges to agtech adoption
- 33:49 - Understanding platforms and agri tech
- 42:20 - Summarising the platform "cake" layers
- 43:35 - Different types of capital
- 49:22 - Building a platform-based approach
- 57:25 - Challenges for big business and the State
- 01:04:10 - Role of Philanthropy
- 01:07:20 - Summary and thanks
Decoding Nano Entrepreneurs with Priya Naik
India is known for its large companies across manufacturing and technology, but what often goes unnoticed is that a large part of the employment in this country is actually driven by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
MSMEs contribute to more than 30% of India's GDP, and 11 million of these are in fact very, very small. These comprise the segment of MSMEs known as nano entrepreneurs, with an annual turnover between ten lakhs and one crore.
On this episode of Decoding Impact, host Rathish Balakrishnan speaks with Priya Naik, Founder and CEO at Samhita Social Ventures, to discuss who are these nano entrepreneurs, what are their challenges, and how can the ecosystem catalyse their potential to become growth engines for the Indian economy.
Priya has two decades of experience in impact and entrepreneurship and has worked with International Finance Corporation, the Poverty Action Lab at MIT, and Arthur Andersen.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on ourĀ Websiteā ,Ā Linkedinā ,Ā Instagram, andĀ Twitterā .
- Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā LinkedinĀ |Ā Twitter
- Guest: Priya Naik |Ā Linkedin
- Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
- Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
- Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections:
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
- 0:48 - Introduction to topic and guest
- 01:43 - Who are nano entrepreneurs?
- 03:02 - Sustainability and scale
- 06:12 - The challenges for nano entrepreneurs
- 14:02 - Overcoming challenges for nano entrepreneurs
- 22:08 - Tailoring for the nano entrepreneurs
- 24:33 - Market first or philanthropy first?
- 30:06 - Gender and entrepreneurship
- 35:52 - The growth curve for women entrepreneurs
- 42:36 - Formalisation of the marketplace
- 49:20 - Preparing nano entrepreneurs for success
- 53:20 - Growing and enabling the nano entrepreneurs ecosystem
- 59:00 - Summary and thanks
Decoding Indiaās DPI Learnings for the Global South with Professor S Rajagopalan
Do we take the possibilities enabled by the unique identification system of Aadhar for granted in India today?
Certain reports estimate that 850 million people around the world do not have an official ID, and that around 133 countries today do not have a digital payment system. Through India's digitisation revolution we have made leaps and bounds in how people can be uniquely identified for social welfare needs and how they can use that identity to manage basic civic rights like accessing financial services, government support, and even applying for a job.
So how can more countries benefit from what we are doing today in India, in a manner which builds the agency of the country to deliver better welfare for their people? To discuss this host Rathish Balakrishnan had an opportunity to speak to Professor S Rajagopalan for this episode of Decoding Impact.
Professor S Rajagopalan, is currently the president of MOSIP & OpenG2P, both housed under IIIT, Bangalore. He is an entrepreneur, teacher, advisor and advocate, and his subject matter expertise and interests include innovation dissemination, economics of innovations, Geographical Information systems, and Economics of Information Technologies.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our Websiteā , Linkedinā , Instagram, and Twitterā .
- Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā Linkedin | Twitter
- Guest: Professor S Rajagopalan | Linkedin
- Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
- Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
- Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections:
- 0:51 - Introduction to topic and guest
- 02:53 - Understanding MOSIP
- 06:35 - Why is a unique identity important?
- 10:36 - How are other countries looking at identity?
- 11:55 - Drawbacks to using other systems
- 14:28 - Which countries are using MOSIP today?
- 17:27 - Timelines to implement MOSIP in other countries
- 19:38 - How countries are enabled to implement MOSIP
- 24:01 - Reactions and interacting with other countries
- 27:16 - Tailoring approaches for each country
- 29:33 - Transferrable use of DPIs
- 33:58 - Value unlocked through DPIs
- 36:00 - Other opportunities and applications
- 41:45 - Accelerating adoption of DPIs
- 43:59 - Global tailwinds for adoption
- 45:07 - The DPI and DPG mental model
- 50:26 - The role of philanthropy
- 54:36 - Summary and thanks
Decoding ASER for FLN Outcomes with Dr. Rukmini Banerji
Education is the Harry Potter of the social sector. Everybody loves it. Everybody puts money into it. Yet, why aren't we seeing sweeping outcomes?
As per the Annual Status of Education Report or ASER 2022, in India the enrolment rate for primary schools stands at the highest it has ever been in Indian education history at 98.4%. However, only 42.8% of grade five students are able to read at grade level text. Assessment and measuring foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes has been thrust to the forefront of understanding what the problems in education are today, so that they can be solved more effectively.
To discuss this and more on Decoding Impact, host Rathish Balakrishnan cuaght up with the CEO of Pratham Education Foundation, Dr. Rukmini Banerji.
Dr. Banerji is an accomplished educationist, who advocates for data-driven education reforms and she has spearheaded the development of notable large-scale assessments, including the widely recognised ASER.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our ā Websiteā , ā Linkedinā , ā Instagramā , and ā Twitterā .
- Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā Linkedin | Twitter
- Guest: Dr. Rukmini Banerji | Linkedin
- Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
- Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
- Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Content Sections
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
- 0:51 - Introduction to topic and guest
- 02:57 - The origin story of ASER
- 15:16 - How ASER was adopted nationally and learnings
- 23:48 - What has made ASER successful?
- 31:28 - ASER is a true public good
- 32:16 - ASER as a social movement
- 37:17 - Education trends post COVID
- 43:56 - The Big Jump for FLN
- 50:10 - Its not about reading, its about self-confidence
- 50:56 - Government role, natural disasters, and successful state interventions
- 57:20 - Summary and thanks
Decoding Millets with Sivakumar S
Millets are often referred to as the crop of the future and India has been undergoing its own renaissance with this super food. Also, 2023 has been designated as the International Year of Millets by the UN, where India has been leading the discourse to develop the dialogue on millets globally.
The magic of millets holds the promise of unlocking a model of production that is good for us, the farmer, businesses, and good for the environment. In this podcast host Rathish Balakrishnan had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Sivakumar S, someone who deeply understands the Sarkar, the Samaj and the Bazaar of agriculture deeply with over 30 years of experience in the sector.
Mr. Sivakumar S is currently the group head of Agri and IT businesses at ITC Limited and is a member of its Corporate Management Committee. He also oversees ITCās Sustainability and Social Investments programme. Mr. Sivakumar S has also been engaged as an advisor for the agricultural industry, at both a national and international level.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our Website, Linkedin, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ā Linkedin | Twitter
- Guest: Sivakumar S | Linkedin | Twitter
- Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
- Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
- Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
Contents of Episode
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
- 0:51 - Introduction to topic and guest
- 02:26 - Consumer-side benefits and advantages of millets
- 05:54 - Other unique advantages of millets
- 10:52 - The farmer perspective
- 15:19 - Systemic challenges holding back the promise of millets
- 22:44 - Three-pronged approach to promote consumption of millets
- 27:05 - What it will take to mainstream millet consumption
- 30:30 - R&D to improve millet production
- 32:40 - Creating a decentralised infrastructure
- 35:36 - How else can we look at promoting millets?
- 39:42 - From the Green Revolution to the Brown Revolution
- 45:23 - Producers and the Green Revolution & industry sentiments towards millets
- 52:29 - Transferrable Learnings for Millets
- 56:47 - The role of philanthropy & the state
- 59:49 - Summary & Thanks
Decoding Digital Public Goods & Digital Public Infrastructure with Dr. Pramod Varma
Digitalisation has already been a significant game changer for India's economy and society. Digital public infrastructure and digital public goods, or DPIs and DPGs,have emerged in the development ecosystem as a means to achieve population-scale social impact.
We have already seen the potential of DPIs with the success of Aadhar and UPI, solving for identity and payment transfer problems. While we will continue to hear about how additional value gets unlocked, there are 5+ DPIs brewing across the social development sector of education, health, skilling and livelihoods. So what does it take to unlock value from DPIs and DPGs as they emerge in other important and complex social sectors in India?
To discuss this in detail with us today, we have with us Dr. Pramod Varma who is the CTO of EkStep, a not-for-profit creating learner-centric, technology enabled platform aiming to provide learning opportunities to 200 million children in India. He was also the Chief Architect of Aadhaar, and various India stack layers such as eSign, Digital Locker, and Unified Payment Interface (UPI). He is a co-founder of FIDE and the genesis author of the open source Beckn protocol. Pramod is an adjunct faculty, he is the Co-Chair at the global Center for Digital Public Infrastructure at the IIIT-B helping other countries design and architect their own DPIs. He regularly speaks at technology conferences and is part of advisory groups of various national and international projects.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on ourĀ Website,Ā ā Linkedin, ā Twitter,ā and Instagram: @sattvaknowledgeinstitute
Host: Rathish BalakrishnanĀ ā Linkedinā Ā |Ā ā Twitterā
Guest: Pramod Varma ā Linkedinā | ā Twitterā
Podcast Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
- 0:37 - Episode reflection from host
- 1:35 - Episode highlight reel
- 2:32 - Introduction to topic and guest
- 3:49 - What are DPIs and DPGs
- 11:47 - Can entrepreneurs succeed using DPIs?
- 13:52 - Mental models & mindset to build DPIs
- 21:42 - How do you know what infrastructure to build?
- 30:42 - How infrastructure builders need to approach solving problems
- 40:35 - The "Bus List" for DPI today
- 49:23 - How to catalyse entrepreneurship and DPIs
- 56:49 - How do we enable industry adoption?
- 1:02:22 - Summary and Thanks
Decoding Climate Finance with Varad Pande
The planet is on the verge of exceeding the 1.5 centigrade limit established by the 2015 Paris Agreement, placing the issue of climate change front and centre for all of us today. On the other side of this crises are vulnerable nations, who have fewer resource to fight climate change, and are facing the double jeopardy of climate justice. In our next episode of Decoding Impact we explored the topic of Climate Finance - focusing on the intersection between finance and climate change, and discussing the role India can play in the global agenda. Finance has a crucial role to play to support three key pillars of mitigation, adaptation, and loss & damage, which are all actions that are necessary to address climate change. So how much money are we talking about? What institutional structures do we need to put in place to accelerate action? To discuss these questions and more in detail with us, we sat down with Mr. Varad Pande a climate finance and investment expert. Varad is currently a partner at BCG shaping their work in climate and sustainability.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on our Website, ā Linkedin, ā Twitter,ā and Instagram: @sattvaknowledgeinstitute
Host: Rathish Balakrishnan ā Linkedinā | ā Twitterā
Guest: Varad Pande ā Linkedinā | ā Twitterā
Podcast Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
- 0:00 - Introduction
- 0:38 - Episode Highlight Reel
- 01:28 - Introduction to Climate Finance & expert guest Varad Pande
- 03:28 - The climate challenge evolution
- 09:18 - Why is climate finance so hard?
- 14:39 - Climate and the Global North vs. the Global South
- 18:46 - The Just Transfer of Resources
- 21: 31 - The third pillar of climate financing: Loss & Damage Fund
- 24:40 - Where is India's climate financing coming from?
- 30:21 - Transaction costs and blended finance
- 34:14 - Collective infrastructure to enable climate financing
- 39:50 - Infrastructure for climate financing that needs to be built
- 42:18 - Carbon markets and climate financing
- 48:21 - Mitigation to adaptation with carbon markets
- 51:50 - Climate change conversation: an opportunity for India
- 55:55 - Innovation and climate finance
- 58:40 - Message for key stakeholders
- 59:46 - Philanthropy and climate change
- 01:02:46 - Summary
- 01:03:51 - India's G20 Presidency and the opportunity to address climate change
- 01:05:38 - Thanks & Outro
Decoding Green Growth with Amitabh Kant
India's G20 presidency is coming at a historic time. In the face of a mounting economic crisis, along with the demands placed by climate change, it is important for leading nations to pave a way for the world that is enduring and sustainable in the long term. 'Green growth' emerges as a critical priority, therefore, for the current G20 presidency.
What is India's vision for green growth? And how is it steering this conversation globally? In the first episode of Decoding Impact Season Two, we are joined by eminent governance reformer, public policy change agent and the Indian emissary to G20, Mr Amitabh Kant. With Mr. Kant, our host, Rathish Balakrishnan unpacks what green growth means for India, and how it is critical to our G20 agenda.
For more, follow Sattva Knowledge Institute on
Website: https://www.sattva.co.in/knowledge-institute/
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/sattva-knowledge-institute/
Instagram: @sattvaknowledgeinstitute
Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
Host: Rathish Balakrishnan Linkedin | Twitter
Guest: Amitabh Kant Linkedin | Twitter
Podcast Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu
- 0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
- 00:38 - Episode highlight reel
- 01:31 - Introduction to Green Growth & Guest Amitabh Kant
- 03:14 - Significance of India's G20 presidency
- 05:02 - Global green growth paradigm
- 07:42 - Evolving the understanding of āgreenā & āgrowthā
- 09:37 - Is India innovating and leading green growth?
- 13:18 - Improvements and progress India has made in green growth
- 15:10 - Green growth = economic growth
- 17:33 - Just green transitions
- 20:15 - Collaboratives and green growth
- 21:38 - Aspirational districts and green growth
- 23:07 - Sherpaās definition of success for Indiaās G20 Presidency
- 24:19 - Summary and thanks
- 24:58 - Outro
Decoding Digital Health with Badri Pillapakkam
In the last few years, digital health has emerged as a potential game changer for enabling accessible, affordable, and quality health care for all. The pandemic has only emphasised the role of digital health as a key enabler to achieve universal health coverage.
In spite of the high potential of digital health, the urban-rural divide, the digital divide, the low economic social conditions and the low return on investment deprive the underserved populations of its benefits. In order to scale and implement digital health solutions in underserved populations, it is important to address the question of who pays for the service and how.
This episode explores the current landscape of digital health in India, including the financial landscape. We also dive into innovative ways of addressing the gaps both in innovation and financing of digital health solutions, and understand the role that stakeholders can play in the scaling of these solutions.Ā
Joining us in today's conversation is Badri Pillapakkam (Partner, Omidyar Network, India). Badri has been a part of the growth journeys of leading companies such as HexaHealth and 1mg, and healthcare, especially digital health, continues to be a key focus area for him.
Decoding Financial Inclusion of MSMEs with Bindu Ananth
With the government push towards an āAatmanirbhar Bharatā, India has signalled that MSME will drive employment opportunities in the country. By 2025, MSMEs are anticipated to account for 50% of the national GDP and 60% of exports. Despite governments' best efforts, more than 90% of MSMEs remain micro-enterprises.
Instead of growing from small to large firms, MSMEs are stuck in the missing middle syndrome- perennially small and unable to grow. While the government has taken steps to address this through various schemes, the MSME ecosystem has seen a rise of digital lending models as a potential solution to the credit gap. These digital models are enabling a digital footprint of businesses and also offering customised products based on the needs of the firms.
In this podcast episode on the Financial Inclusion of MSMEs, we are joined by Bindu Ananth (Chair, Co-founder and Managing Trustee, Dvara Holdings), who has over 20 years of experience in the sector. We explore the challenges and potential solutions for the unique financing needs of MSMEs in India. We will also deep dive into major causes that have prevailed MSMEs in accessing affordable credit along with understanding the opportunities that lie ahead for digital lending in India.
Decoding Sustainable Sourcing with Jagjeet Singh Kandal and Rijit Sengupta
As supply chains across the globe expand and evolve, the effect their operations have on the 3Pās - People, Planet and Profits, becomes increasingly complex.
Ā The effects on livelihoods are immense as more than 450 million people today are employed as a part of global supply chains, with a significant proportion of informal livelihoods depending on them. Supply chain operations result in over five times higher carbon emissions than the direct operations of corporations. More than 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress is today attributed to unsustainable extraction and processing of raw materials, fuels, and food. The good news is that there is also an increasing willingness for firms, especially agribusinesses, to make their supply chains more resilient and sustainable on all fronts ā one major decision being procuring or sourcing raw materials for their products sustainably. However, there continue to be supply- and demand-side challenges.
Ā To discuss the nuances of this issue, we have with us Mr Jagjeet Singh Kandal (Country Director at IDH India) and Mr Rijit Sengupta (Head, Centre for Responsible Business). We discuss how we can address existing challenges, bridge information asymmetries, and make sustainable sourcing a reality.
Decoding the Digital Ecosystem for Skilling & Livelihood (DESH) Stack with Satish Mohan
The skilling landscape in India continues to be plagued by issues such as supply and demand mismatch of skilled personnel, limited training facilities and a lack of effective credentialing systems.Ā
The Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood, or the DESH Stack e-portal has been launched with the aim to bring together stakeholders in one digital ecosystem, enabling easier discovery of opportunities and services and improving verification credibility through the digital skilling credentials of citizens.
In this episode of 'Decoding Impact', we have with us Mr. Satish Mohan, CTO and Co-founder, Dhiway. Satish takes us through the evolution of digital platforms, elaborating how the DESH Stack can facilitate credentialing, verifiability and discovery for citizens, helping them secure gainful employment.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
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Decoding Women's Unpaid Labour with Dr Sona Mitra
According to PLFS 2021, a staggering 80% of women attribute their absence from the labour force to being engaged in domestic duties, making the unpaid labour economy a central theme for the discourse on women's economic participation in India. Ā
In this podcast episode, we try to understand the context of women and the unpaid labour economy in India, and why Indian women are less economically empowered than other countries in the Indian subcontinent. We deep-dive into the methods to understand it and address some of these challenges. Ā Ā
To discuss this, we are joined by Dr Sona Mitra. Sona is currently the Principal Economist at IWWAGE and a Lead at Krea University. She also teaches as adjunct faculty at the Ambedkar University Delhi. Her specialisations are in research on gender and labour development, economics, public policy and labour statistics.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
- Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
- Instagram: @sattvaknowledgeinstitute
Decoding Gender Data Gaps with Mitali Nikore
Women account for 48% of India's population however, with only 19% of them being a part of the labour force, our country suffers from an alarmingly low female participation rate in the workforce. Ā
In this episode of Decoding Impact, we have Mitali Nikore as our guest speaker who is an economist, a gender policy specialist and the founder of the youth-led research group Nikore Associates. In our conversation with her, we elucidate why a country like India which is considered one of the potential superpowers of the world lags behind with its women still not as economically empowered as they should be. Ā
Through this dialogue, we unravel some key insights from recent important surveys like the PLFS and National Family and House Health Survey, explore themes like burdening societal expectations from women and discuss ways to make the situation better.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
- Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
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Decoding the Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) with Hrushi Mehta
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) are creating 11.1 crore jobs in India, second only to the agricultural sector. However, they are plagued by an acute shortage of, and access to formal credit.
For this episode of Decoding Impact we will explore a potential solution for this in the form of technology, specifically the opportunities presented by the Open Credit Enablement Network, or OCEN. We explore how it can enable access to credit for MSMEs on a national scale.
We delve into the network itself, as well as the engagement with lenders, credit products, distribution engine, and finally, the role of philanthropy in accelerating its adoption. To have this conversation with us, we have Mr Hrushi Mehta, who is a Co-founder and Chief Evangelist at CredAll.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
- Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
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Decoding Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) with Emmanuel Murray
Small and marginal farmers comprise 85% of all the farmers in India. They are plagued by issues such as lack of bargaining power, credit taxes, unavailability of farm inputs and access to various government and private sector-led farm interventions. Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) have the potential to address these issues and make agriculture viable for Indian farmers. FPOs have been around for the last twenty years, and recently we have seen exponential growth in their numbers.
However, the promise of FPOs, while exponential, is currently limited by a key factor. If the goal of doubling farmer incomes is to be achieved, it is necessary to find ways to build the capabilities of FPO leaders. Across the board, it has been acknowledged that building and finding this capability has been a challenge. To guide us through the myriad challenges that FPO capacity building entails, we have with us Mr Emmanual Murray for this episode of Decoding Impact. Mr Murray is currently working as an Investment Director at Caspian Equity, and is considered one of the most passionate and knowledgeable experts in the FPO ecosystem.Ā
In our conversation, we get a picture of the FPO landscape, the challenges that prevent the scaling up of FPOs, the quality of leaders needed for this ecosystem, the role of capital and some promises that these institutions hold for Indian farmers.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
- Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
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Decoding the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) with Sujith Nair
India is estimated to have 6.3 crore micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have the potential to flourish with innovative sales and marketing efforts, but are currently not part of the digital revolution.
In this episode of Decoding Impact, we will explore an upcoming digital platform and protocol, the Open Network for Digital Commerce, or ONDC, and how it will enable access and supply of digital markets to many MSMEs in India. To shed light on ONDC we have with us Mr Sujith Nair, who is the CEO and co-founder of Beckn Foundation. Through the discussion, we will not only understand ONDC itself, but also protocols and how these can change the interoperability between buyers and sellers. We also delve into the current maturity of the ecosystem, as well as the role philanthropy might be able to play to strengthen the ecosystem.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
- Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
- Instagram: @sattvaknowledgeinstitute
Decoding Mental Health with Dr Soumitra Pathare
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the distress, isolation, fear and anxiety that followed, mental health and well-being is a critical conversation that has arisen. India faces an acute mental health crisis. Mental morbidity affects over 1 in 7 Indians during their lifetime, at least one in five adults suffers from depression at some point in their life, and suicides are on the rise, with 12 deaths by suicide per lakh population in 2021. It is crucial for us, now more than ever, that we shift from a purely treatment-driven approach to ensuring holistic care, even at the primary healthcare level, by equipping individuals and communities with the right knowledge, and addressing the stigma which inhibits health-seeking behaviour for mental health.
In this episode of Decoding Impact, we are joined by Dr Soumitra Pathare, Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of the Centre of Mental Health Law and Policy, based at the Indian Law Society, Pune. Dr Pathare shares with us his views on understanding mental health and its socio-cultural nuances in the Indian context, barriers that limit mental health interventions, understanding the treatment gap and recommendations to solve mental health at the systemic level.
- Linkedin: Sattva Knowledge Institute
- Twitter: @sattvaknowledge
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Decoding Biofortification with Ravinder Grover
Three billion people the world over are experiencing the phenomenon of 'hidden hunger'. In India, approximately 80% of the farmers are small-holder farmers. In today's episode of Decoding Impact, we discuss a solution that has the potential to transform both of these: biofortification. Ā
The UN recently declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, with the intent to build momentum for millet production and trade while heralding the benefits of nutrition, sustainability and economic empowerment for farmers. Furthermore, following the increased awareness about fitness and health that the pandemic ushered in, there is a resurgence in the popularity of superfood grains like foxtail millets, ragi, jowar and pearl millets.Ā
With this accruing global focus on solutions for health, well-being and farmer livelihoods, as well as the growing interest in climate change resilient practices in agriculture, there has arguably never been a better time to scale biofortification. In this episode of Decoding Impact, we are joined by Mr Ravinder Grover, the Programme Lead from Harvest Plus, who is an expert in the biofortification domain, and comes with extensive consulting experience. We discuss with him how the potential of agricultural produce, including the superfood millets, can be accelerated through the agricultural treatment and application of biofortification. Ravinder unpacks for us what biofortification is, how it can make grains climate change-resilient, how farmers can benefit, the practical application of biofortification and the trade-offs and barriers to scaling this agricultural practice in India and globally.
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