In our list of India's Best 50 - the 50 Most Employable Students from the Class of 2021-23, we feature MBA students who have walked that extra mile and done that little more to stand out! One of those featured in today's story, Avichal Agrawal, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve his true potential. Read on and find out his story!
The following are Avichal Agrawal’s set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Employable MBA Graduates of the Class of 2023. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Avichal's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his own words.
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
As challenging as it is to get accepted into one of India's top management schools, what happens after you're there adds a whole new level of challenge and puts your grit, character, and resilience to the test. As soon as I enrolled at IIM Lucknow, I knew I wanted to be a part of the Student Council because of how much they influenced the campus experience of roughly 1200 students and their capacity to effect positive changes at the institute. In addition, I had a great deal of respect for these people because of the accountability and duty they assumed, from onboarding us amidst Covid to resolving grievances between the various committees on campus. However, submitting the election nomination form required quite a bit of courage. I had held a number of leadership positions since I was a young child, but until this point, I had never run for an elected post against a peer. I must also admit that at times, the idea of perhaps losing disturbed me. But then I realized that life is all about taking chances, seizing opportunities, and giving my all without considering the repercussions. After all, I had no influence over the final result, but I did have the chance to make my MBA experience far more fulfilling by overcoming my fear, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and meeting everyone in the batch to pitch myself as an ideal candidate to represent their interests. Whether it was the campaigning or the day of the soapbox wherein I faced the entire batch and answered their queries, I had a great learning experience and eventually, the conclusion wasnt the only thing on my mind. Although winning the election was undoubtedly the cherry on top, it was the journey and not the destination that was truly memorable. On our first day at the office, we had to make a big decision about whether or not to send the batch home due to the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. I am a firm believer that the true essence of an MBA lies in an interactive peer-to-peer learning environment, but the other premier institutes had already resorted to a wholly remote learning environment due to the pandemic. I was able to collaborate with my fellow council members to reduce the number of Covid positive cases on campus to zero and resume offline classes within a short span of time. This was accomplished by putting into place a robust mechanism by tying up with pathologies, making plans for quarantining individuals in the event of any cases, delivering food to hostels and quarantine centers, and developing a SOP for Covid protocols. This was a huge accomplishment for the entire governing body as well as for myself, as it needed a lot of round-the-clock supervision to guarantee there were no errors and an effective system in place to deal with the pandemic and restore normalcy. We were careful not to downplay the threat posed by the pandemic, but we reasoned that simply sending everyone home would not prevent them from being exposed to the virus. As a result, we devised a plan to ensure the maximum level of safety for all on-campus students and staff while also causing the least amount of disruption to the academic environment.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
As an elected member of the Student Council, standing up for the interests of all the students at IIM Lucknow, both professionally and in times of personal need, is one of my most important duties. Although there have been many occasions where my seniors, peers, and juniors have looked to me to deliver when negotiating on their behalf or when pushing through for constructive changes, one incident from recent times stands out for me. Shortly after completing my summer internships, I received a call from a batchmate informing me that his mother had just suffered a stroke. The illness, which seemed to only get worse by the day, required urgent treatment, and the family had to rush to New Delhi. I was shaken by the idea that this could happen to anyone's mother, much less someone my age who is also juggling the demands of an MBA school. I made a commitment to do whatever it would take to support him and his family during these trying times and treat the problem like my own. His undying confidence in revealing the most personal information about the treatment and struggles made me realize how much faith my friend had put in me and how high the stakes were. I wanted to be there for him as a friend, a brother, and in any other way I could be to help the family. IIM Lucknow is known for its academic rigor, and term IV provided its own hurdles to the students. Right from talking to the relevant stakeholders to get some academic relaxation to help him be with his family in this hour of need to raising financing through fundraisers and other sources, we were able to ensure that the treatment continued without any interruption. I really feel privileged to have gotten an opportunity to be of help, however small, to someone in a moment of despair and help him tackle his troubles.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
As part of the core committee of the college's Entrepreneurship-cell, we had targeted a footfall of 5000+ for its flagship event. Lagging behind the target registrations, the marketing team came up with an idea of a lucky draw for participants with registration in multiple events. Other members wanted to start advertising this instantly even though there was a chance of not being able to get the promised gifts due to budget constraints. I felt it was unethical on our part to start advertising prematurely and took a firm stand against the idea and tried rationalizing with others about how we were jeopardizing the future and reputation of the club for short-term gains. I backed my stance by saying what was being thought as a calculated risk was indirectly indulging into fraudulent practices. I was finally able to convince the others by proposing alternate plans to boost the registrations and also promised to give it my best to meet the additional budget requirements. This incident had a positive impact on my self-belief and confidence as I stuck with my values and didnt concede to an idea that did not seem correct to me. I was also able to see an impact on the other members during interactions later on when they mentioned how they would have regretted taking the decision that could have reflected poorly on the club and its members. The biggest takeaway for all of us was to openly voice our concerns and not get swayed by the popular opinion.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative that has led you to do deep work in that field?
I have always had a strong desire to go beyond my primary tasks and explore more since I am of the opinion that learning and growth are largely influenced by gaining from experiences and interactions with individuals from different walks of life. I hold in the highest regard the job I did and my active participation in the Diversity & Inclusion workstream during my previous employment. In addition to being a member of the core team, I was also collaborating with some of the senior most directors at the company to drive initiatives and implement practices to create a much more inclusive workplace. We understood the significance of valuing diversity in all of its forms and took proactive measures to promote the same. We received rave reviews from the employees and ingrained these practices into the very DNA of the firm by supporting flexible working arrangements with remote working options much before the pandemic, regular senior employee connect sessions, and 1-1 mentorship provision. I have been eager to support efforts to advance the cause, even as I pursue an MBA, and I have taken advantage of every chance to increase my involvement. Whether it was through small contributions during my two-month internship stint or helping establish the Pride club at IIM Lucknow, this is an area that is close to my heart and I strive to continue contributing in order to make a difference.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
I'd like to start by deciding on the general areas to which I want to allocate this money, and then moving forward to finer details. I think the main things I want to concentrate on are my family, future growth, not-for-profit work, and a portion towards fulfilling my passion.My sister and parents' unwavering love, support, and numerous sacrifices have made me who I am today. They have adopted all of my aspirations, sharing the suffering of setbacks and celebrating each victory along the way. For this reason, I would first like to invest in a penthouse at a good location for them to reside in after retirement, which in my opinion would cost about $2 million.Next, I would like to make investments with the corpus that would ensure wealth generation and a future alternate source of income. Given that I am in my twenties and have a high risk appetite, I would like to make investments that reflect this. Giving this category a budget of $6 million, I would further divide the investments into equity investments, investments in a technology-based business venture, gold, and a very modest amount of cryptocurrency. Given the optimism surrounding the Indian economy and its resiliency in the face of turbulence, equity investments in the form of blue chip stocks, index funds, and some well chosen sectors are expected to yield good returns (3035%). I believe AI and machine learning are primed to bring about disruptive changes. Given my faith in technology being at the core of growth irrespective of the industry, I would want to allot around 40% of the $6 million in a start-up opportunity in this space . Since gold has been used for a very long time as a reliable investment hedge, I would like to invest 20% of the sector's allotted corpus in gold. Finally, I believe that blockchain has enormous potential from a technological standpoint, and as a result, I am ready to wager 510% of the remaining funds by investing into cryptocurrency (to the moon!)Additionally, I would donate $1 million to non-profit groups that support senior care facilities and education. Nothing saddens me more than seeing elderly in the later stages of life struggling to care for themselves while formerly going above and beyond to support their children. As a result, I would like to do my part to further the cause and facilitate such non-profit groups.Lastly, it is only human to have hobbies and passion. I am passionate about cars, travel and a huge sports enthusiast as well. Therefore, I would spend about 200,000 of the remaining $1 million on a Mercedes Maybach S and use the remainder to travel the world and watch sporting events like the World Cup, Wimbledon Finals on Center Court, and El-Classico (Hala Madrid!).
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As per government tax payers' data and our assessment, only about 6,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn an annual 'salaried' income of INR 30 lacs or above. And only 11,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn a 'total' income of INR 30 lacs or more.
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