STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Growing up in an urban locality of Ahmedabad, I had never been to a village until my college
days. I had always been a person who disliked walking on Indian roads as I felt one has to
always keep head down while walking, or our feet can anytime be stuck up in cow dung cakes.
Then, life went a bit ahead and took me on a journey where I had to stay in a village for a week,
survey their lifestyle, infrastructural development, everyday challenges they face and suggest
the changes that I felt will help the village prosper and become equivalent to an urban setup. My
first reaction to this exploration was quite skeptical but today it has brought a tremendous
awareness about reality into me. I realise, villages that are the soul of our nation, although are
a way ahead in terms of what they provide us to sustain our life, a huge gap lies is in the
opportunities that reach them because of the barrier of proper communication channel.

Encouraged by this experience, or better, to quench the curiosity and explore more, the
reasons behind this huge gap, I joined National Service Scheme (NSS), which is a community
development organisation under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
Platform of NSS has given me varied opportunities from ground level-working in rural areas for
sanitation and education to national level opportunities- marching on Rajpath in NSS Contingent
on 26th January, 2018, our Republic Day. There are multiple projects which I have worked upon
through NSS and other organisations in rural setups.

One of the grand projects I have been a part of from ground to top is for the Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan. Collaborating with agencies like DRDA, we surveyed the villages-found out the homes
without toilets, constructed toilets there, and in the homes where they had toilets, we
encouraged them to use it, as many of the houses used toilets as store rooms. With huge
efforts of our whole team, we constructed around 9000 toilets in 5 villages near Gandhinagar.
For the same, we were mentioned in Mann ki Baat (25 September, 2017 ) by our hon'ble PM
Shri Narendra Modi too. Even, this contribution helped Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad to be
declared as ODF and hence, was called upon by hon'ble Chief Minister and Governor of
Gujarat to appreciate this contribution.
For this contribution and digilent team efforts, I have been honored to receive the NSS National
Award 2017-18 as NSS Best Volunteer by the hands of hon'ble President of India Shri Ram
Nath Kovind ji on September 24, 2019.

Another project that I would like to mention here is a girl child education project that I worked
upon with a local NGO, where in Gandhinagar district we enrolled the dropout girls to rejoin
school and complete their education. This and more such projects I have been a part of has
made me realise that education is a very powerful tool we need to bring a positive change in the
society. Rather, it is a challenge to educate people too. I have found with my personal
experience that people are taken away with unnecessary stereotypes and thoughts which are
coming in our way of development. Given logical reasons amalgamated with the local cultural
norms and traditions, it is easy on the other hand to mix with them and make them realise the
reality.
As a technical student, I realise the requirement of sensitized technocrats in innovating
products and services that reach the last person and hence, I realise how important this
experience has been in shaping my thoughts in a direction where I will be able to work keeping
in mind the needs of the local wo/men. I believe that more than changing society, these
opportunities have changed me. No doubt, we have been able to bring changes that we have
envisioned, stepping into the rural arena and spending most of the four years of my college life
with these thoughts has given me a new vision and a perspective to work for the betterment of
our nation.

On one hand, when ground level work has taught me the importance of proper planning and
execution-management, I realise the requirement of apt policies to be framed realising the need
at root level and a proper channel of taking them to the target beneficiaries. I believe that my
fellowship at MGNF will enlarge my perspective and horizon of opportunities to work in the rural
sector. MGNF gives me confidence that my experiences and vision can help government frame
solutions that are practical and doesn't overlook any section of society. To realise my goal of
becoming a civil servant, I believe, MGNF will be a stepping stone of my life and I envision
giving my full contribution to it.