~Enthusiastic youngsters reach Jamshedpur to get a flavour of Tata Steel’s Sustainability activities~

Tata Jagriti Yatra 2008, an initiative by the Tata Group and Jagriti, an NGO by ex-IITians has been planned with the idea to promote entrepreneurship amongst youngsters keen to initiate social change. The train with the yatris reached the steel city last evening and the team was welcomed at the Centre for Excellence.

As a part of the function to interact with the yatris a panel discussion had been organised on the topic of "India's civic challenges - Solutions that work" which is scheduled to be aired on CNBC TV 18. The panelists who expressed their views on this contemporary issue were Mr. Partha Sengupta, Vice President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel, Mr. M B Nirmal and Mr. Madan Mohan Rao, Secretary, Rural Telecom Foundation. Some of the key highlights of the discussion were efficient ways of handling civic amenities issues in the country and the role of corporates, government and the administration in providing effective solutions to the improve the basic infra structure and enable development. There was a discussion on the significance of Private Public Partnership (PPP) and some focus points of this initiative. Overall the discussion was informative and enlightening and the yatris had some important questions related to the issues of civic amenities. The interactive question and answer session brought out some interesting and significant points that were relevant to the topic.

Post the panel discussion the team of yatris was taken around Tata Steel Works and briefed on the various initiatives undertaken by Tata Steel to ensure environment friendly practices not only inside works but also the city of Jamshedpur. The team left for their next destination early Tuesday morning.

This team of youngsters is a part of the eighteen day train journey that was flagged off in Mumbai on December 24, 2008 and it will end on January 11, 2009. The aim of this Yatra is to awaken the spirit of entrepreneurship - both social and economic - within India's youth by exposing them to individuals and institutions that are developing unique solutions to India's challenges.

The Tata Jagriti Yatra 2008 train will travel across India covering 8000 kms and halt at 13 different destinations - Thiruvananthpuram, Kanyakumari, Puducherry, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Delhi, Tilonia and Anand. Across the route of Yatra, various social and business entrepreneurship models will be showcased; participants will interact with real heroes who have brought positive changes to India.

Jagriti is an organization run by an NGO and is headed by some eminent people, many of whom have been part of a similar journey ten years ago. The Indian Railways have greatly cooperated with Jagriti, dedicating an entire train at the Yatra's disposal which has been fully equipped to hold discussions and debates, in addition to residential facilities.