Yuva Summit 2013

Posted on Saturday, February 16, 2013 by LEAD


January 30th, 2013 marked the Deshpande Foundation’s 3rd annual Yuva Summit, where hundreds of students and educators gathered to commemorate the LEADers on their projects and their accomplishments.  The Yuva Summit is one of the opening events for the Deshpande Foundation’s annual Development Dialogue, an international conference that features some of India’s greatest pioneers in entrepreneurship and development

While 60 inspirational projects were showcased at the event, 5 LEADers were presented the “Best Leader” award for carrying out projects that exemplified innovation and led to significant impact.  The best LEADers were selected by Mr. Ratan Tata, Mr. Narayan Murthy, Mrs. Sudha Murthy, and Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar.  Mr. Tata presented each student with his or her award. 


Recipients of the "Best Leader" Award:
Gulshan Banu (Govt First Grade College, Sirsi)
Hutgar, a village near Sirsi, had a poor drainage system. Gulshan addressed the problem by contacting the government and demanded a solution.   Initially, the public was not supportive and even criticized her efforts.  Gulshan, however, did not give up.  Instead, she took initiative and approached every villager and Gram Panchayat member herself.   As a result of her perseverance, the local Panchayat finally agreed to fund the construction of a drainage facility for Hutgar.  Gulshan’s project, costing Rs. 1,40,000, was completed in just one month.  Over 300 villagers now make use of the drainage facility.  Gulshan’s accomplishments have also extended beyond her project and Hutgar, as her work has inspired two other students to join the LEAD program.



Prasad (Shri Kasgateshwar Degree College, Talikoti)
Prasad began his project with intention of teaching the women of Hunasagi, Bijapur , how to read and write.   After starting his project, Prasad soon realized that he could help these women even more beyond literacy.  Prasad conducted 20 training sessions and taught the women about how to access banking facilities and  apply for loans.  He additionally provided the women with self-employment training.  Prasad’s project made an immense impact; 34 women were able to get loans from banks to start their own sustainable businesses in areas such as animal husbandry, tailoring, and handicraft.  

Santosh Kaveri (Samiti BBA College, Belgaum)
In the village of Shedbalin, Belgaum, farmers used any extra money they had to pay laborers to help them peel and clean the carrots that they harvested.  After six months of designing, Santosh invented a machine to help with this process.  With the machine, carrot preparation only requires the help of one or two people and requires a limited use of electricity and no water.  Moreover, Santosh’s machine allows 100 kg of carrots to be harvested, cleaned, and peeled in only 15 minutes.  Eight farmers now use this machine and have spared the costs of employing six laborers.   


Anuradha Bandari (Govt First Grade College, Sirsi)
There was a water problem in Anuradha’s village of Bommanalli, near Sirsi.  Anuradha assembled her villagers and encouraged them to take initiative themselves.  She helped the villagers, as well as members of the Gram Panchayat, approach the government and demand water tanks.  Within a month, the government sanctioned Rs. 2 lakh for the construction of four water tanks.  The government even agreed to fund the construction of streetlights for the entire Birumbe village.  Through the completion of her project, Anuradha not only inspired her local community, but she also inspired her peers; four other students at her college were motivated by Anuradha’s hard work and started taking initiatives and solving problems in their own respective communities.


Shreedevi R. Paschapur (BLDE BBA College, Jamkhandi)
The village of Sidhapur, in Jamkhandi, possessed no proper bus facilities.  Because of this, school buses did not stop at the village, and students would be forced to walk 9 to 10 kms per day.  Many students were missing their first two classes, and some students were not attending their classes at all.  Shreedevi brought this issue to the attention of her college principal and the local authorities.  One month later, permission was granted to allocate a bus stop in Sidhapur.  250 students now regularly attend their classes.


Best Performing College: Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum: 

Special recognition should be given to GIT and its commitment to the LEAD program.  GIT has given full support for the LEAD program, both on an off campus, and has maintained high participation in all LEAD related activities. LEAD has been allotted a designated area on campus and has been placed on GIT’s “Prestigious Partners” list. A strong senior and junior faculty has been created specifically for the LEAD program.  GIT has spent 50000 Rs in cash to support the LEADers participating in LEAD Prayana has sponsored 10000 Rs worth in merchandise.   Most recently, GIT sent some of its architecture students to help decorate the Deshpande Foundation for the Yuva Summit, even though the architecture students are not part of the LEAD Program. 

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