A Dialogue with Benjamin Maikho on Future is Now-Concept
In this current scenario, future does not longer bear much relevance. Present gain appears to be more alluring and urgent than the need to think and concern for what is to come. Accumulating for now taking shorter routes bypassing basic natural processes is the trend. The trend is rampant, it is convincingly influencing many people. Many are made to fall to debt traps. Taking a long road demands hard work, dignity of labour, struggles and sacrifices, sweat and tears. It is not an easy road. Building future collectively seems to be unattractive whereas pursuing to get something now appears to be lucrative.
It is pertinent to dialogue on the prevailing political economy, welfare measures, social imbalance and individual excellence in comparison with the just, equitable and transformative initiatives driven by real contextual needs with sustainable approaches soothing to the very spirit of people’s aspirations promoting meritocracy and inclusiveness.
While racing for progress and development, it is important to revisit the fundamentals of economic development, the enable infrastructural development which empower and promote entrepreneurship, attract investment and understand the rationale of return and taxation.
‘Future is Now,” the dialogue envisions to engage the listeners in thinking for collective good, starting from an individual as positive channel who through transformation can impact family, friends and society at large. The dialogue process will also attempt to explore attitudinal transformation, creating a helping and thriving community towards societal transformation and thus, attaining self-reliance that is being internally propelled.
The dialogue attempts to discuss on the following pertinent areas:
- Taking a long road in comparison to chasing short cut way (viz “PONZI Scheme,” tender, etc) to gain wealth.
- Political economy- welfare measures, social imbalance in comparison with equitable real need base driven initiatives.
- Individual excellence, social capital development and building social infrastructure
- Fundamental of Economic Development, Infrastructure Development Entrepreneurship, investment, return and taxation.
- Pursuit of attitudinal transformation, evolvement of self-help in goodwill internally towards societal transformation and attaining self-reliance.
- Paradigm shift in leadership-conventional leadership to transformational leadership.
# The Seminar is being initiated by Social Innovation Lab, Senapati under Tahpu Foundation with a vision “enriched minds, engaging in thoughtful actions towards societal transformation.” It is a ‘not for profit’ initiative, purely depends on thoughtful response and contribution of like-minded individuals/ organizations. It seeks to collaborate and partner with any like-minded individual or organisation.
Target Group: Students, Lecturers, Entrepreneurs, Leaders of Apex Organizations/Church Leaders, Intellectuals, Researchers, Govt. Employees and any interested persons.
Intake: 500 participants
Medium: Bilingual (English and Manipuri)
*Brief Profile of Resource Person
Maikho Benjamin
1. Manager, Bharat Petroleum Noida
2. Head (Human Resource), Max India Ltd
3. Head (Human Resource), Yamaha India Pvt. Ltd.
4. Head (Human Resource), Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd. (Current Position, he has been recently transferred to Pune from Delhi)
A Dialogue with Benjamin Maikho on Future is Now-Report
Senapati, 25th April: “The world is going through rapid changes,” says Benjamin Maikho in his opening remarks while stressing that ‘Future is Now.” He continued to assert, “the best time to plant trees was twenty years ago and since we did not do that, now is the second best time.” He briefly dwelled on how things like smart phone, artificial intelligence, trade wars, Asian Giants War etc. are affecting the society on daily basis.
A Dialogue with Benjamin Maikho on “Future is Now” was held on 23rd April at Indoor Stadium with 300 participants. Benjamin Maikho is currently the Head, Human Resources & Admin for Adventz Group Companies comprising of three group companies namely; Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd, Paradeep Phosphates Ltd, Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd, one of the largest players in fertilizer and chemical industry in the country.
Benjamin Maikho hails from Purul Atongba Village, a Poumai Naga village in Senapati District. Until recently he was working as Head HR Corporate Gurgoan till February 2018. He had worked as Head Human Resource Corporate-India Yamaha Motors Pvt. Ltd. Noida, Max Health Care Institute Ltd. Delhi, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Mumbai and Delhi (oil and gas). He has Masters Degree in Human Resource Management & Industrial Relations from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and degree in Economics from Ferguson College, Pune.
The dialogue was organised by Social Innovation Lab. Senapati, an initiative of Tahpu Foundation with a vision “enriched minds, engaging in thoughtful actions towards societal transformation.” Tahpu, is the ancient Nagas’ stone elevated place where people sit to exchange ideas, knowledge, thoughts, wisdom, stories, news etc. It is a second lecture series of the Foundation, the first one been, “A discourse with Dr. Easterine Kire (The Hindu Literature prize winner and most prolific Naga writer) ‘On Naga Literature and Creative Writing in English’ held on 28th May, 2016.”
Benjamin moved on to mention some events took the world by storm such as “21st Century Digital evolution, Block chain, Internet of things, AI, 3D Printing, Robotics, Aadhaar, demonetization.” He further stated that Ambani and Tata, the biggest industrialist also started selling vegetables after knowing huge consumers demand in the sector. He draw an irony where ‘soil health cards’ is already in place whereas basic health care facilities are still lacking in towns and villages. He reasoned upon the rationality of people as to why people in remote villages people have to bring package drinking water whereas the pure spring water is found in such places. All these events caught everyone by surprise.
“Objective of business is to make profit by studying the behaviour of customers,” says a prominent corporate leader. He went on to say that business creates the need and to start, one needs working capital which has a break even period and involves lots of risks. He also mentioned that in business one needs to constantly evolve, innovate and compete. To enter in business one not only needs thinking, knowledge but right attitude-state of mind, Maikho stated.
He elucidated the types of investments and warned that schemes such as PONZI, Crypto Currency and Bit Coin are not accepted by the Government for which people need to be aware. He educated the gathering on taxations highlighting about GST, Government earning and spending while citing that Government print money based on GDP. He compared the national average of family earning (Rs.1,03,700) to that of per capita income of Manipur State (Rs.45,384) and pointed that welfare schemes need to be distributed equally. He pointed that ‘education system is a problem,’ while justifying that education must be more of analytical, reasoning and focus on skill building which ought to prepare students towards entering into skill oriented jobs.
He stated that the prices in Senapati are high, the reasons can be due to low productivity, not organised with very negligible local production in terms of food, fish and meat, as these items are imported from outside the State. He said he was shocked to learn that Fishes are imported all the way from Andra Pradesh. He encouraged the gathering to explore in evolving a model of agriculture like that of Israel where a cow can give 40 litres of milk in a day and a tomato tree can produce upto 10 Kgs in a season.
Benjamin mentions, “self-reliance will be attained when there are self-enterprises.” Value addition and ecosystem of multiplying values are essential but missing in our region, he stated. He reiterated that agriculture in the district is virtually missing while citing an example of Israel, how was a desert country lead the world in agriculture by adopting scientific technology with an approach of ‘minimizing to maximizing.’
While expressing his concerns of young people migrating to other states, Benjamin strongly advocated that our society need role models, HE/SHEROES who can be successful in various, He cited that there are 900 plus occupation awaiting people to pursue. While rueing that many young people are wasting their time playing carom, chess etc,, he challenged the gathering to pick up any job in which one is good at and achieve success.
He hinted that there are lots of untapped resources in Senapati and north east region with great opportunities as it is the gate way to Asian countries and if East-West North-South Highway corridor is built there will be huge business opportunities.
He also suggested a development model of convergence of individual excellence with social infrastructures, social capital development and good law and order-good governance. He said that many individuals are excelling but it is pathetic to see basic social infrastructures lacking such as bad road conditions, basic health care and education system.
He pointed out until social infrastructures are built with sound social capital development and good law and order, business cannot thrive. He mentioned that with poor logistic chain, business cannot flourish in our land and argued that good and all weather road is the mother of all progress and development. He provoked the gathering that the very dimension of leadership need to be broaden, in current situation society need transformational leaders who empower followers to succeed well and even exceed them. He challenged that to build a future, it has to start now.
