IIFM opened up a host of opportunities. I took a keen interest in the understanding of two sectors; one was more around the thriving CDM market (back in 2006-07, it was big), and the other was understanding the rural finance space. Who knew that both would come in handy eventually? I ended up working with some of the best organizations (IFMR, WRI) that helped me hone my skills. I was lucky to be mentored by some of the best in the industry during my early days in these organizations and as luck would have it the best in the industry were our seniors from IIFM. Right from supporting and rectifying mistakes during the early days to make sure that I can reach out and bounce ideas off now. The role is ever-changing and evolving, but the one constant is the fantastic support from the seniors across sectors now.
WRI was a great organization to work for, and it was just starting off in India. I had a chance to work with one of the best teams that the WRI New Ventures Program. That experience led to Arc Finance, which funded energy programs across financial institutions globally. Finally, I am at the World Bank now.
Without exposure to IIFM, none of this would have been possible. I ended up learning from some of the best, and my batch had some superlative students as well. Striving to keep up and enjoying my time at IIFM helped me get where I am at now.
More than motivation, it is the discipline that will help get you to where you want to be. Sometimes motivation is overrated, one needs to be resilient and keep persisting to achieve what they want to in life. Key milestones:
• Doing a seminal study that put my name out there as someone who understood the sector well. I worked on the “Power to the People: Investing in Clean Energy for the Base of Pyramid” report, with our senior Santosh Singh (PFM 04-06) and a global team composed of experts. A bulk of the work on this report was front-ended by Santosh and me. The report was and is still used as study material across some places including NYU, MIT, Duke and a few others.
• Leading a team at Arc Finance to deliver a big program: The responsibility of managing a host of people across nationalities and delivering on a USAID target needs perseverance. Loads of it. The miscommunication missed deadlines by the team and everything else that can be thrown at you, makes you want to give up. But nothing is sweeter than overdelivering on a project, and that’s exactly what we did at Arc Finance.
• Getting into the World Bank and trying to work with governments to deliver on large RE projects. Any project of this scale takes a lot of wheels to turn at the same time but is a unique experience in itself. Again, the result of the project makes it all worth it.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
Getting to work on large scale projects, carefully understanding government priorities and the nuances at play to deliver the project. Each day is a new experience, and one must keep learning no matter at what point in their careers they are in.
IIFM laid the foundation stone for my career. Every single day, I am thankful for whatever I learnt from my teachers and my batchmates. I still remember when Prof Rathore had failed our whole class for not citing sources in our report submission. That stayed with me for a long time, I make sure that the quality of work which goes out through the door is top-notch.
Once Prof Suprava Patnaik came into the class and started asking each one of us what was taught the previous class. In a batch of 40, you would expect at least some of us to be able to remember, no one did. We were all marked absent. Well-deserved I think, but this taught me to be attentive to what one hears.
Reading, I always loved reading, but I learnt to read about new things happening in the sector to keep one abreast of the developments. Finally, speaking in front of the whole class and batchmates gave me the initial confidence that I leverage now when I have to talk in front of much larger crowds.
Q.Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.
I see a bunch of seniors and have tracked their careers closely. I am pretty close to Santosh Singh and Akshai Abraham (2006 batch). Vineet Rai has been pretty motivational, Jayesh Bhatia, Ashish Mishra, Alark Saxena and Jagjeet Sareen are the others who have been strong advocates of the brand IIFM.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
Spending time with friends in front of the mess, sunsets at the sunset point, late-night badminton matches, walks to the India Gate. The incredible field trips, of course.
Have to mention the late last-minute rush to complete assignments, especially in a group.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
So many of them. Almost half the batch. I ended up marrying my best friend Shweta… the other one very close to me is Shailendra (Shail). I still spend time talking to close ones like Arjun, Kanika, Kalpu, Kallol (my roommate), Sunil, among others. Among seniors also, Santosh, Akshai, Koyel Mandal are very close, and I reach out to bother them whenever I can.
I still try and reach out to our professors such as Suprava Maam, Madhu Maam, CSR Sir, Amitabh Pandey Sir, Biswas Sir, for anything. They are sweet to still entertain our whims even after 12 years of passing. But then I guess this is something they realize that they will have to do for a long time
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
Explore. IIFM is a great place to come in, spend some time and understand what your seniors are doing in the sector. Reach out to them if you like the work they do. Speak to the professors if you need any help, but keep exploring.
Q. What is your typical day at the office? (We want to know what your day job looks like..)
Travel is the most exciting part. At the World Bank, the portfolios I look after are the renewable programs in the Maldives, Bangladesh and a bit of India. I get to travel, and that is the most exciting part.
Q. And how about weekends.. Hobbies.. Family..
I have a six-year-old who loves to make me play cricket and football. We also end up making stories and trying to draw them out… our own comic books I call them.
I am married to my batchmate Shweta, and both of us love travelling and hiking whenever we can. So, we keep trying to do that when we have the time.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors, ..
Books too many to list out but I like the writings of Bill Bryson, Jared Diamond and mysteries by Satyajit Ray/Bhaskar Chattopadhyay/Robert Galbraith/Jo Nesbo.
Movie:
• Shawshank Redemption (The only movie that deserves to be on everyone’s list)- I forced my batch to watch this while we were at IIFM.
• The Prestige
• Andhadhun (Recent watch)
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
I am happy to engage with students and the alumni affairs committee in any form they deem fit. I feel that the engagement now, has reduced than what it used to be when we were students, there has to be a way to reach out to alumni for constant interaction. Leverage social media and remote access better to understand what we do.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
We were just 37 students in our batch. Now I believe they have over 100. Attention to individuals will definitely reduce with larger batches. Still, the key is to ensure that the students who come in and pass out are the ones who really want to be there. Our batches were driven by kids who really wanted to be in the environmental, social or developmental finance space. That ensured motivated personnel who delivered quality work wherever they went. We still need to keep doing that.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
PD Jose Sir, Santosh Singh, Akshai Abraham, Shailendra Kumar.