Poverty and structural inequality in India in the 1970s was visible quite starkly in Kolkata’s Chowringhee Road where the homeless of the city huddled and begged outside the Grand Hotel, an opulent reminder of the days of the Raj. You had to be particularly insensitive to be unaffected by the plight and the abject poverty of the people you saw and not ask how do we deal with this, says social activist and the pioneer of microlending in India, Vijay Mahajan.
Those thoughts in a way defined the path his life would take in the future. The second defining factor was the fact that ...
TO READ THE FULL STORY, SUBSCRIBE NOW NOW AT JUST Rs
Key stories on business-standard.com are available to premium subscribers only.
Already a premium subscriber? LOGIN NOW
Note: Subscription will be auto renewed, you may cancel any time in the future without any questions asked.
What you get?
ON BUSINESS STANDARD DIGITAL
- Unlimited access to all the content on any device through browser or app.
- Exclusive content, features, opinions and comment – hand-picked by our editors, just for you.
- Pick 5 of your favourite companies. Get a daily email with all the news updates on them.
- Track the industry of your choice with a daily newsletter specific to that industry.
- Stay on top of your investments. Track stock prices in your portfolio.
- 18 years of archival data.
- Requires you to share personal information like date of birth, income, location amongst other fields. This information alongwith your contact information will be shared with the partners associated with this program, who contribute towards subsidizing the offer. By subscribing to this product you acknowledge and accept that our Partners may choose to contact you with offers of their products and services.
- This is an optional offer - Not comfortable with sharing personal data - please opt for the full price offer which requires you to share minimal information