About i Watch
1. What is i Watch ?
i Watch is a National Citizens Movement for "
Transforming INDIA". '
i' means India, Indians, you and me. '
Watch' means that we are '
Watching' what is happening in the country and reporting to the citizens in order to create awareness for the sake of improvement. The '
i' is small since our Gurus have always taught us that only with humility can we perceive the truth. We focus on
Education & HRD, Governance & Administration, Economy &
Enterprise and
Employment Generation.
i Watch is a Registered Charity with the head office located in Mumbai, India. Donations to
i Watch, qualify for 80G Income Tax benefits for Indian organizations and citizens.
2. How do we plan to - Transform INDIA?
i Watch functions in three stages.
- The 1st step is to Create Awareness; notes - The INDIA you may not Know, Action Plan for INDIA and Making INDIA a Knowledge Economy are used for the purpose of creating awareness.
- The 2nd step is to suggest Solutions and Action Plans; this is achieved by our website, interactive workshops and our book titled - Transforming INDIA.
- The 3rd step is Actual Implementation; for this purpose, we assist and network with Government, Public, and Private Organizations and NGO's.
3. What have we achieved so far?
In 1992, after we started on the journey of Transforming INDIA, it took us nearly 4 years of research and travel to come to some basic conclusions as to the areas of focus for Transforming INDIA.
This we achieved by 1996.
Real work started in 1997
The focus finally watered down to the following
four key areas:-
- HRD, Education & Training - Decontrol Higher, Technical & Medical Education & VET
- Governance & Administration of India
- Economy & Enterprise - Emphasis on SMEs, relevant Labor Laws and priority on exports
- Employment Generation - Concentrating on exports, SME's and Vocational Education (VET)
i Watch has had success in all four areas as we have been able to change the mindset of a large cross section of the decision making population and also initiate change by the use of our following inputs:-
- Interactive workshops, seminars & articles
- Two page note - The INDIA you may not know………. Economy 1st & Employment 1st
- Two page note - Action Plan for INDIA………. India 1st
- Two page note - Making INDIA a Knowledge Economy……….Education 1st
- 56 page book - Transforming INDIA
- Website at www.wakeupcall.org
- Education 1st, India 1st, Economy 1st & Employment 1st are Divisions of i Watch
As members of CII, FICCI, PHDCC&I and ASSOCHAM and discussions with IBA, RBI, MOF, etc. we were able to influence the meaning of
SME and understanding the limited relevance of
SSI.
In Governance we have been consulted by State Governments such as the Delhi NCT to suggest and advice on
Governance and Administration.
We have been invited to participate in the
Working Groups for the
11th Plan, 2007-2011 by the
Planning Commission, Ministry of HRD, IGNOU, NIOS, AICTE and
Ministry of Labour, New Delhi.
In
Educational Reforms, our thought process regarding Vocational Education & Training, have been considered by the Ministry of HRD, IGNOU, AICTE and the Planning Commission.
Deregulation of Higher and Technical Education is gaining acceptance through initiatives with the ARC, Planning Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance and the National Knowledge Commission.
In the areas of
Economy & Enterprise, we are called for our feedback and inputs by Think Tanks such as the
World Economic Forum.
In the last 10 years we would have distributed more than 600,000 copies of our book,
Transforming INDIA, conducted a large number of
Interactive seminars and hosted all our ideas and thoughts on our
website.
4. Feedback & Response to i Watch
Feedback and Response received from Indian organizations and individuals, during the last ten years has been documented, based on letters and communications received. A selection of some of these communications has been compiled into a dossier and available for inspection at our office in Bombay and with our Hon. Advisors. Some of the feedback is mentioned in our book - Transforming INDIA, on pages 49 & 50.
In short, we are quite happy about the mindset change and action plans initiated in different parts of India, based on the above strategy adopted by
i Watch.
5. Founder of i Watch
The Founder Trustee of
i Watch, Krishan Khanna, is an IIT Kharagpur graduate in Mechanical Engineering, 1956 - 1961 batch.
In 1996 he was the recipient of the National Citizens Award presented by the Prime Minister of India.
In 1992 he gave up his professional and business career and started on the journey of Nation Building and Transforming INDIA as a small contribution to what he could give back to society.
He is a technocrat with many years of experience in business, industry, management and teaching. He is widely traveled in India as well as to all the 5 continents and has been involved with fourteen joint ventures and business partnerships with organizations from the USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Iran, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Australia.
He has worked for nearly 6 years in Germany and Japan.
6. Inspiration
INDIA can become a Nation, which is best described in the words of
Rabindranath Tagore
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led by thee into ever widening thought and action- Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."
Source: Gitanjali, verse XXXV.
7. Dedication
The work of
i Watch is especially dedicated to the youth and the
770 million Indians, who are less than 35 years of age!
8. Contact details
i Watch
211, Olympus
Altamont Road
Bombay- 400026.
Tel. +91-22-23535466
Fax. +91-22-23536782
Email:
krishan@wakeupcall.org
The only Constant in Life is CHANGE!
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