Page 29 - Mann Ki Baat - English May 2022

the products/services delivered. a sustainable, scalable
Today, 1bridge is present in over technology platform that could
75 districts across six states and unleash the potential of youth
has a network of over 9000+ as entrepreneurs, who can
entrepreneurs. Last year alone, serve their village communities.
1Bridge carried out over about 22
He truly believes that the
million transactions across all of
aspirations of villagers, their
its villages in these 75 districts.
talent and entrepreneurial
Sh. Padaki expressed his energy, when combined with
gratitude to the Prime Minister for the power of technology, can
recognizing 1Bridge’s efforts in his create a new rural India. He
‘Mann ki Baat’ address. He told calls this new rural India as
that 1Bridge was also selected as ‘Ruban’. “We have coined a
a National Startup Award winner word called ‘Rubanomics’ as
for 2022 and this recognition by a new socio-economic model
DPIIT helped them to be in the for the development of our
spotlight. villages. My dream is to see
Sh. Padaki has been working with every village in our country
youth for over two decades. He, develop on the Rubanomics
along with two other co-founders, model where every youth is
started a company in 2000 empowered, every young
called MeritTrac, India’s first skills person has an opportunity to
assessment entity. In 2011, they earn a phenomenal income
started a foundation called ‘Head as an entrepreneur, and every
Held High Foundation’, where youth is a change maker trying
they took in uneducated village to help the village community
youth, and transformed them in adopting new technologies
into English-speaking, computer and agricultural practices, do
literate professionals. He firmly better financial management
believes that the village youth of their household incomes,
have untapped potential, but due and access the best of
to the dearth of opportunities, products and services for their
they end up migrating to cities. children and their families,” he
This inspired him to create expressed.

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