CAN ORANGE CITY BE OPPORTUNITY CITY?

Nagpur: During the introductory round, all panellists sounded optimistic about finding employment in Nagpur in the near future. However, is there any actual economic revival or attitudinal change in the city that gives rise to such hope? Hotel management student Rucha Moghe didn’t think so. Citing a personal experience, she said, “I interned at a luxury hotel in the city, working almost 14 hours a day.Even then, all I got was Rs1,500 a month.” A similar stint in Pune, she said, would have yielded more. Her judgment: “Employers here are not aware of how much they should pay for what. They want quality workers but are not ready to pay them well.”
Architecture student Shreya Joshi agreed that there is low awareness among employers about pay scales. “Those in metros are ready to spend to retain quality talent,” she observed. Kiritraj Garud, a third-year engineering student, who has also launched his own web development start-up, said that innovators should be rewarded suitably, which will help boost their morale as well.
Divya Sachani, who is pursuing her engineering in computer science, disagreed that there aren’t well-paying jobs in Nagpur, adding that a government firm such as Powergrid had excellent packages for trainees as well as full-time employees. Pragati Baghel, a management student, too said that while her internship in Pune wasn’t financially rewarding, she had gained a lot from the experience. “The attitude of job seekers is not very good. They have this perception that there aren’t good opportunities in the city, but jobs are everywhere,” she added.
In what was to become a recurring theme of the debate, Garud also placed the blame on Nagpur University, saying that it didn’t enjoy a good name in the job market. However, he was quick to add that his internship at Pune had taught him that we should have an attitude similar to that of a child: always willing to learn. “Instead, our attitude is we will work more if we get paid more. If the pay is less, we don’t put in as much effort,” he said.
However, the panellists agreed that in the past couple of years, attitudes within the city had begun to change. Garud again said that many idea incubation centres are coming up in the city, indicating a willingness to groom entrepreneurs. Moghe said that spending habits of people, especially youngsters, are also changing for the better. Yamini Chhabda, an engineer by training who has changed track to start her craft business, added that her products, made out of waste material, would be rejected earlier. “Those same people are now warming up to them. The growth is gradual but it is there,” she said.
While attitude of citizens may change, what about attitude of industries and MNCs who can provide large-scale employment in the region? MBA student Dheeraj Sharma said many companies have invested in Mihan-SEZ, indicating a sign of things to come. However, Pragati Baghel said most of these companies have only performed bhoomipuja of the land they have bought and then done very little. Divya Sachani said that many big-ticket IT firms such as HCL, TCS and Infosys are going to set up shop in Nagpur in the coming years, which augurs well for the city’s youngsters. Baghel, however, again added that what Nagpur needed was several manufacturing units. “In Bengaluru, the manufacturing sector supports the IT industries to a large extent,” she said.
Sharma added that thanks to Nagpur’s central location, it can become a hub of logistics and supply chain firms. He added that after Goods and Services Tax is implemented, setting up business will be even easier in the city. Kiritraj Garud added that electronics manufacturing could also be a viable sector for the city. “It will provide ample employment opportunities to everyone from semi-skilled workers to engineers and even supply chains,” he said.
While education is a big sector in Nagpur, its quality leaves a lot to be desired. BEd student Neha Baghel said there are many institutions in the city, but their standards are not like those in metros. The panellists said that because of this, the quality of graduates is not up to the mark, leaving a large percentage unemployable in large companies. Garud said there was no transparency in evaluation of papers in the university. Rucha Moghe said that the syllabus was not updated to the latest demands of the industry, resulting in the students not being up to speed with the latest knowledge. Divya Sachani added that even if the course is updated, many of the teachers are still stuck in the past. “This is why many students prefer to shift to Pune. Here, many teachers just download stuff from Google and give us the printouts,” she said. Garud said that there was a lot of stress on theory in Nagpur, whereas in a place like Pune, there was more focus on giving practical and application-based training to students. Pragati Baghel added that caste-based reservations were also a big demotivating factor for many students.
There is also a distinct lack of interest in the industry when it comes to Nagpur. Deliberating on the reasons, Garud said we are not open to new ideas and do not take pride in the firm we work for. Joshi said that we tend to follow the crowd. Moghe concluded by saying that Nagpurians generally tend to be complacent. “We are satisfied with what we get. We do not show any passion or drive,” she said.