Hi, I am Navaneeth Ganesh. I am a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow at IIM Bangalore.
The MGNF Program is a unique blend of academic training in public policy and management and a rigorous district immersion, where the fellows get a chance to apply their learnings to bolster the skill development ecosystem of the country by working at the grassroots.
The MGNF Program is a unique blend of academic training in public policy and management and a rigorous district immersion, where the fellows get a chance to apply their learnings to bolster the skill development ecosystem of the country by working at the grassroots.
We start our fellowship at IIMB, are trained in concepts of public policy, communication, design thinking, development economics, the skill development ecosystem and the machinery in the government, and then are sent to our districts. At the Districts, we work with the District Collectors and are coordinating members of an interdepartmental body called the District Skill Committee, which sees participation from Industry, Academia, various line Departments in the District Administration concerned with skilling, entrepreneurship, and livelihoods, and the civil society.
Most of us are early-career development professionals, and getting such an opportunity at this stage in our careers is a wonderful opportunity. A unique blend of classroom experiences and working with policymakers and professionals across functions at the grassroots, mentored by faculty from IIMB, is a great, well-rounded exposure to the sector that we get.
4 months into the fellowship, after having familiarised ourselves with the district and its economy, we come back to IIMB, undergo more training which we are able to better grasp and respond to, given our experiences, and present our findings and learnings to our peers and mentors. After two weeks of classroom learning, where we discuss case studies and learn more frameworks of public policy, marketing, liaising with public administration, leadership and governance, we take these back to our districts and apply them once again in our work. This is a fascinating blend of chintan and manthan that we undertake, and our approach to the work is better for it.
I chanced across this program because of a former colleague of mine, who was a Fellow in the first phase. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship developed this program along with IIM Bangalore and piloted the first phase with 70 fellows in 7 states. I kept in touch with him and followed his work and was inspired to apply myself when applications opened up, next.
The idea of the program, in my view, is to create young policy professionals who have a strong understanding of how the Government system works from the ground up, engage us in the districts for its economic development as we learn, and with that experience built in, have us contribute to the development story of the country after the fellowship.
Many of the Fellows of Phase 1 who got trained at IIM Bangalore, which was the first IIM to offer this program, have been absorbed by the National and State Skill Development Missions. Others have gone on to join leading non-profits such as SELCO Foundation and Tata Trusts and development sector wings of consulting firms such as GT, Sattva and KPMG, leading programs in skills, livelihoods, entrepreneurship and others.
Being part of Phase 2 allowed me an opportunity to work in a more structured environment and also follow the impact footprint that my seniors left before me. Coming from an Engineering background, volunteering in community projects once a month was my only exposure to the grassroots. A formal understanding of how the Government works, plans, and executes problems, how it consults stakeholders and seeks advice and inputs from various sectors built in me a better understanding of how large systems integrate the functions of smaller units and operate as a sum of its parts. The peer group that it has introduced me to, consisting of 70 fellows from over six states across the country with all its diversity and challenges across domains, has allowed me to learn from all parts of the country. Furthermore, as I see my career develop into a development professional, having worked shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most experienced officers in the Government, ideated and planned projects with them and discussed them in detail with my Faculty Mentors at IIM Bangalore.
The existence of a strong Program Management Unit at IIMB, consisting of handpicked experts who have had a background working in the development sector, has given us a strong support structure to fall back on. The State Resource Associates, engaged by IIMB to support the fellows, are our go-to resources when we want to run ideas and get a sense of how things may pan out.
The PMU also coordinates and arranges sessions for us fellows with ex-beaurocrats, experienced development sector professionals and sector skill councils to help us do better in our districts.
In the 2nd Phase, 660+ Fellows are engaged in just as many districts, with 9 IIMs onboarded for the program. Imagine the movement of change created by unleashing that many youngsters full of energy and passion into the ecosystem. IIMB being the innovator leads this massive exercise in strengthening the skills ecosystem of the country.
Just to illustrate, these are some of the activities my colleagues and I have been engaged in, in our states and districts.
Deep in the mining city of Keonjhar, Odisha, Pulak has been working closely with officers of the District Mineral Fund to launch a first-of-its-kind Skill Development project for the miners in the district.
Up north in the hilly terrains of Uttarakhand, Kartikeya works with homestay owners in improving the facilities and services that are much sought after, an exercise that has considerably improved the economy of the families involved.
In the coastal state of Goa, with all its pristine beaches and exotic food, Shama and Bindiya have launched a comprehensive Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Program for MSMEs to equip them with the latest digital marketing, packaging, branding, and soft-skills techniques to help them better market and sell their products directly to customers.
To the northeast, in the untouched terrain of Gomati, Tripura, Ashish works vociferously, going from pillar to post in Government Offices to roll out various schemes and programs in skilling. Having been a region that has been ignored for far too long, the development story of India begins today from the northeast, and my colleagues there are ensuring it does.
Back home in Karnataka, having seen 2 Phases of the Fellowship, fellows have been engaged in a myriad of different activities. Many of our seniors were absorbed into the skills ecosystem through the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation, and we are able to apply directly the concepts taught to us in stakeholder consultation and writing policy lectures as we were engaged in drafting the Skill Development Policy for the State which is now being reviewed and refined at the Secretariat.
My personal experience in this program has been one of great learning and lots of fun. It’s always nice to come back to campus once every four months or so and live the life of a student. Then go back to the Government Offices, put on a serious face and go adult in meetings. We have regular conversations with our Faculty Mentors, and their experience in working in so many different programs is a ready resource for us to tap into. The peer group is also very diverse and it’s always a joy listening to others’ experiences, drawing parallels to our own and seeing what we can do and where we fit in to make it a little bit better.
IIM Bangalore completes 50 years this year, and that is a momentous occasion. Honestly, I feel very lucky to be part of an institution with such a legacy at such an important time in its history. The Director, in his address to us fellows, remarked that our program is the continuation of the institute’s efforts to engage with the Government and the Development Sector to make the life of India’s citizens better, and I am confident that it will continue to do so in the years to come with innovative programs such as ours.
I believe I speak for everyone when I acknowledge the role of IIM Bangalore in the capacity building of 700+ individuals and, through them reaching millions in the districts and villages of India, and I am excited to see what we can do for the country after our fellowship.