XLRI GMPians meet social entrepreneur

Social entrepreneurship is not the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about MBA grads, more so when they are pursuing a 1-year MBA. But the General Management Program at XLRI once again lived up to its promise of holistic learning and gave the students an opportunity to interact with Mr. Pradeep Ghosh.

An Ashoka Fellowship holder, Mr. Ghosh, is a social innovator, who is involved with a unique "social credit system" initiative for the villages of Maharashtra.

Last week, the students of the GMP Program at XLRI, got an opportunity to interact with Mr. Ghosh. In an hour long discussion, Mr. Ghosh explained how a social credit system can act as a social security system in villages in India. In any developed nation, social security system is based on the income of people. Mr. Ghosh's idea is unique on the context that his social security system (piloted by the Governments of MP and Maharashtra) is based not on people's income but on people's expenditure.

Mr. Ghosh, during the discussion, kept the audience enthralled with the nuances of the social credit system and how it has been functioning smoothly in the villages of MP.

Among the other topics discussed, was that of a 'Museum School'. This unique initiative involves the use of “museums” to teach the slum kids.
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About Mr. Pradeep Ghosh:
Pradeep is an Ashoka Fellow, and the founder of Bhopal-based OASiS
http://www.ashoka.org/node/2581
His main work has been in the area of Micro-Insurance, and has developed a consumption-based model for micro-insurance, which is being piloted by Govts of MP and Maharashtra
An IT professional who switched to social entrepreneurship, he is essentially a social innovator, and there are many other initiatives, e.g.,
"Museum School" for slum kids, "social credit system" etc., which he has initiated. Some articles on his work can be accessed here:

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/sep/17spend.htm

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/sep/14insure.htm

http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=3&autono=317915


Contributed By: Prijit