REPORT ON MAHALAXMI SARAS 2020

BY: ANAGHA. ANIL. BHATKAR

ROLL NO: 11

S.Y-M.M.S (OPERATIONS)
INTRODUCTION

HISTORY OF MAHALAXMI SARAS

Being one of the biggest rural exhibitions held in the country, Mahalaxmi Saras has
introduced nearly 5000 Self Help Groups to the urban consumers in the last decade. In
addition to Self Help Groups (SHGs) from Maharashtra, SHGs from various states participate
in this annual extravaganza. These SHGs are majority run by the women who make their
own products and are looking for a market to gain exposure. There are a variety of products
that are displayed such as handicrafts, textiles, food, utility, jewellery etc.

MAHALAXMI SARAS 2020

An initiative taken by the Government of Maharashtra to provide a marketing platform to

rural entrepreneurs and artisans, Mahalaxmi Saras is an annual exhibition-cum-sale of
handicrafts, handlooms and food products. This exhibition is run by the officials of the
Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MSRLM) under the guidance of R. Vimala,
Chief Executive Officer, MSRLM. Successfully completing its 17th year, Mahalaxmi Saras
2020 was held from 17th January to 29th January at the MMRDA Grounds, Ground No:-
1,4,5 & 6. BKC Bandra (E), Mumbai, Maharashtra .

The inaugural ceremony of Mahalaxmi Saras 2019 was blessed by the presence of Hon’ble
Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister for
Rural Development, and Hon’ble Hasan Mushrif, Minister for Rural Development,
Maharashtra State.

Around 512 stalls were present out of which 73 were food stalls. Around 1200 participants
from all over India through various SHGs participate in this exhibition to market their
product. The accommodation of the participants were made at various hotels within the
vicinity of the event venue. Transport facilities were made available for the participants to
pick and drop them from their hotel to the ground.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Introduction of Asmita Micro ERP App was initiated this year for better tracking of sales,
billing and inventory management and control which was supposed to be done by members of
SHG. Our role was to introduce this app newly and train the SHG members for their thorough
use during the exhibition which was conducted on 15th Jan, 2020.

We were thirty management trainees in total who were segregated into different
committees and had roles and responsibilities depending on the allocated committee. I was
allocated for the REGISTRATION, DAILY SALES REPORT committees.

The roles and responsibilities of the following committees were as follows:

REGISTRATION

As in the registration committee, In this process we had to cross check the gate-pass bought
by the participants and the ones that we had and verify their identity proofs (such as
AADHAR CARD, PAN CARD, Voter ID etc. We collected the required documents such as xerox
of their ID proof, passport size photo and SHG proof and attached it to the gate-pass that
they produced. Once the verification was done, stall number was to be allotted to them as
per the list given to us on the gate-pass that we would provide them along with the stamp
of MAHALAXMI SARAS.

DAILY SALES REPORT

Being in the sales committee, we had to collect sales data of the stalls for the previous day.
The data initially had to be collected manually on a printout with the respective details to be
filled in as shown below.
Stall No Name of No of Product Total Sales
the SHG members Details Inventory
 With a total of 512 stalls in the venue, with 470 stalls being regular products stalls while the
remaining 70+ being food court stalls. We were allotted 36 stalls each, and had to collect the
data for the same. Details and amount were collected as per the above format. After manual
entering is done, we had to enter the same on an excel sheet and save it.

A Buyer-Seller Meet was organized on the 25 th January 2020 to provide a platform for the
buyers (companies, entrepreneurs, etc) to interact with sellers (SHGs) to know about their
products, their production processes, production capacities and have a detailed discussion
about the same. This meet was arranged and organized by senior officials under the guidance
of respected CEO & IAS Officer R. Vimala Madam. I coordinated with my allotted concerned
buyer and arrange the necessary requirements mentioned by them, sending them agendas,
managing the entire meet so that this meet could lead to future successful deals for the
betterment of both Buyer as well as Sellers.

COMMITTEE TASKS AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS GROUPS

REGISTRATION

As an individual, I handled the registration process for OTHER STATES Division which
involved states namely, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal. I carried out the entire registration process and ensured that
the participants produced the required documents. Once the registration process was
completed for the participants, I made the Identity Cards for the registered participants and
handed them to the respective registered stall owners.

As a team, we ensured that the gate-pass that was given by us to the participants as well as
the ID card issued to them were verified time to time.
DAILY SALES REPORT

As an individual, I had the responsibility of collecting sales data from 36 stalls. We wrote it
manually at first on the printout format and filled in the required details as well as the sales
data. Once manual data collection was done, this data was to be entered on an EXCEL SHEET.
I ensured that the details were entered by all the sales team members and then calculated
the total sum in the excel sheet and updated the same amount on the group. This was to be
performed on a daily basis.

As a team, it was every sales committee member’s responsibility that the sales report of
every other members was filled in on the EXCEL sheet by 12 pm. As a group, we helped each
other into data filling of the sales in case if the responsible person was called in for another
task. We made sure that the report was done before 1pm every day.
ON JOB ISSUES

 The buses arrived at around 10:00 am and then the stalls were set up. This delayed
the sales report process as majority of the stalls would open after 10 am. It was even
challenging to enter our sales report as there were only 3 computers and there were
18 of us to fill in the data. We ensured that the data was filled and even helped each
other in filling their reports as the deadline to submit the sales report was 1pm. As a
team, we stood behind each other and ensured that the task was completed.

 In the beginning, it was quite a task to manage the women who would go the
restrooms and the washing areas to wash their clothes and utensils. As a the
sanitization team, we came up with a certain time frame for washing clothes and
utensils and ensured that every person is doing their task in the designated area
only. This ensured efficient use of water.

 It was sometimes observed that there were a few extra members sitting in the stalls
while the registered members were not there around the stall. We made sure that at
least one out of the two registered members was sitting in the stall at all times.

 There were other issues such as people using inductions, or small gas stoves to make
their lunch within the exhibition premises which was strictly prohibited. As the
SECURITY CHECK team we gave them a warning and ensured that the guards were
informed about these so that they were aware about the people and could take
necessary action against them. At the most, we confiscated their inductions/ gas
stoves.

 While collecting the sales amount from the stalls, there were situations where some
stalls did not maintain a bill-book or any sort of written proof of the previous day sale,
hence it was on our intellect that we predicted whether they were saying it right or
not based on their inventory.

 Pairing with an MEC ( Micro Enterprise Controller) we had to convey the stall owners
to neatly present their stalls as the officials would be on round at any time of the day.
  There were a lot of issues regarding the males being members of the stalls. The entire
event being organized for the women, the male crowd appeared to be more.

 Introducing m-swipe for online transactions was an add-on for the stall owners. But
since majority of the stall owners faced difficulty in using the same and faced
problems regarding their transactions.

 ASMITA ERP app was also an introduction where in the stalls had to maintain their
inventory and also their sale, But this was also a major drawback as not everybody
used the app.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
  The major learning I got to learn from the LIVE PROJECT is TIME MANAGEMENT. I
learned to be on time for duty, to be fast yet efficient in performing tasks and tried my
level best to give the most of my abilities.

 I learnt to be controlling as and when the situation demanded me to be.

 TEAM WORK has yet been another great learning as we learnt to support each other
in the critical times. We managed as a team knowing each others positives and
negatives and did not let the negatives be a hindrance.

CONCLUSION
MAHALAXMI SARAS 2020 has taught each one of us to be a better manager in life. We have
learnt to be empathetic yet controlling. Each day bought in a new challenge and difficulties
and we conquered them by facing them.