BANGALORE: Just Rs 20 in pocket. Surviving on single banana for breakfast, rice dish from roadside vendor for lunch, biscuits for tea time. Not a life that you would expect the future CEOs from the most prestigious B-school of the country to lead. But this is what some of the IIM-B students experienced for a day early this week — just to know what it is to be poor.
As part of their elective programme 'Inclusive Business Models', 75 students were exposed to another world, one which many of them have only heard about — that of people who live with just Rs 20 per day (the below poverty line cut-off).
The students, in groups of five, went to different slums in and around Bangalore, interacted with the slum-dwellers, trying to understand their lives and finally come up with suitable business solutions that can help them. Interestingly, some of them even went on to experiment what it is to live with only Rs 20 to get a hands-on experience.
"My strategy was to have two meals — Rs 10 each. But I wanted to make sure that it was wholesome so that I do not feel hungry in between. I could not get anything from campus for that.
So I ventured into the smaller lanes outside the campus. I could get three akki rotis and two bananas within Rs 10. I know it's not possible for me to survive for a long time like this, but may be for a day or two. It was a life-time experience, it makes you realise the value of money,' said Justin T. "Mine was an abject failure. I found it was impossible to live with Rs 20. I did not touch my car, used the mobile only to receive calls, went out to Bilekahalli market to get bananas, ate from roadside vendors, got low quality vegetables, yet it did not fit in," said Varun Sharma.
While some gave up smoking for the day as cigarettes were expensive, there were others who gave up on luxuries like using a laptop.
"The cost reduction options are to buy old, partially damaged vegetables from vendors in the evenings, used oil from hotels, low quality rice, pulses or ragi, pickle sachets, leftovers of chicken/lamb from butchers (like neck or intestine), seasonal leafy vegetables or green chillies," said Vishnu P, a student, in his presentation on the experience.
From understanding the aspirations of the slum-dwellers to sending their children to English medium schools and to travel in aVolvo bus to the penetration of shampoos and soaps, the students got a peek into the lives of the poor. Speaking to dhobis, a 16-year-old school dropout who is the family bread winner and a 61-year-old construction labourer was an eye-opener for many of the students.
They are also exposed to the experiences of other players in the field like rural BPOs. The students at the end of the programme have to come up with business models that can help the poor. "Most of our students are not exposed to that kind of a life otherwise. The intention of this course is to explore whether it is possible to have a sustainable business model that can help the underprivileged,'' said Gita Sen, professor, Centre for Public Policy.
As part of their elective programme 'Inclusive Business Models', 75 students were exposed to another world, one which many of them have only heard about — that of people who live with just Rs 20 per day (the below poverty line cut-off).
The students, in groups of five, went to different slums in and around Bangalore, interacted with the slum-dwellers, trying to understand their lives and finally come up with suitable business solutions that can help them. Interestingly, some of them even went on to experiment what it is to live with only Rs 20 to get a hands-on experience.
"My strategy was to have two meals — Rs 10 each. But I wanted to make sure that it was wholesome so that I do not feel hungry in between. I could not get anything from campus for that.
So I ventured into the smaller lanes outside the campus. I could get three akki rotis and two bananas within Rs 10. I know it's not possible for me to survive for a long time like this, but may be for a day or two. It was a life-time experience, it makes you realise the value of money,' said Justin T. "Mine was an abject failure. I found it was impossible to live with Rs 20. I did not touch my car, used the mobile only to receive calls, went out to Bilekahalli market to get bananas, ate from roadside vendors, got low quality vegetables, yet it did not fit in," said Varun Sharma.
While some gave up smoking for the day as cigarettes were expensive, there were others who gave up on luxuries like using a laptop.
"The cost reduction options are to buy old, partially damaged vegetables from vendors in the evenings, used oil from hotels, low quality rice, pulses or ragi, pickle sachets, leftovers of chicken/lamb from butchers (like neck or intestine), seasonal leafy vegetables or green chillies," said Vishnu P, a student, in his presentation on the experience.
From understanding the aspirations of the slum-dwellers to sending their children to English medium schools and to travel in aVolvo bus to the penetration of shampoos and soaps, the students got a peek into the lives of the poor. Speaking to dhobis, a 16-year-old school dropout who is the family bread winner and a 61-year-old construction labourer was an eye-opener for many of the students.
They are also exposed to the experiences of other players in the field like rural BPOs. The students at the end of the programme have to come up with business models that can help the poor. "Most of our students are not exposed to that kind of a life otherwise. The intention of this course is to explore whether it is possible to have a sustainable business model that can help the underprivileged,'' said Gita Sen, professor, Centre for Public Policy.