Arun Lakhani - A Force of change

As individual citizens we often look at India and wonder what can each of us do for the betterment of our nation. As a rapidly developing country we face numerous issues regarding infrastructure, food, water and sanitation. Depending on the government alone is not enough as we all must play a large role in bringing about change.

There are those who we can look towards for inspiration, those who in their own humble way have worked hard towards creating a great impact across the country. The chairman and Managing Director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd, Mr. Arun Lakhani is one such individual. Integrating the best qualities of the profit-oriented corporate world with the social objectives of the government, he has initiated positive change and a new era of Public Private Partnerships, a model that has existed for decades but has only recently been implemented with great business acumen and dedication.

An engineer by education, Mr. Lakhani is a change maker at heart, using his B.Sc from Amravati and M.Tech in Petro chemicals to develop ideas, manage projects and create a better environment for the Common Man.

His planning and management skills were developed at the start of his career when he entered the software writing and data processing sector. His yearning to work in public spaces and his entrepreneurial spark were both kindled when he started his own company, Mahagas. As India was decentralizing the LPG sector, Mahagas emerged as one of the first private sector supplier.

“The journey through my career and various roles has taught me that at the heart of every successful endeavour there are passionate and dedicated people. Only when we choose to work together do we prosper”, believes Mr. Lakhani.

With this attitude and a vision for greater heights, he went on to acquire and develop Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited. Today the company is known for its expertise in the field of giant infrastructural projects, maintaining a steady record for quality and timeliness. In a short span, Mr. Arun Lakhani steered the company towards his dream to contribute to the nation. He targeted one of the largest problems being faced by India, the lack of clean water and the management of waste water.

VishvarajInfrastructre is one of the leading private companies in the water sector. They have ventured in to water supply projects, water conservation initiatives and waste water management systems. They are on the verge of working with several state municipalities and Mr. Lakhani, who is a great supporter of Public Private Partnerships, participates in several conferences and seminars.

“We can’t sit back and wait for the powers that be to take action. We must come together and make a collective effort. The growth of India depends on everybody and not just one government or a few corporates”, states Mr. Lakhani.

In order to understand the vastness of his plans and the high standards of quality he envisions, one need only look at the work being carried out by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited in Nagpur. 24x7 water supply is today a reality in Nagpur and waste water is being recycled, reused and even generating revenue.

With success stories such as the one unfolding in Nagpur, several states and cities have already begun signing PPP agreements, especially in the water supply and waste water treatment sectors. Punjab, Haryana, Panchkula, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Karnal are some of these. If credit is due, then a great part of it must be given to the man working tirelessly behind the scene, the chairman of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited.

“I hope to someday witness more and more Indian citizens benefitting from the collaboration between the government and private sector companies. Water is one of the most important resources we have but there are several other challenges that need to be resolved and these present a great opportunity for the new generation of entrepreneurs”, advises Mr. Lakhani.

Arun Lakhani shares his views on sectors that will see maximum Change in Near Future

Arun Lakhani shares his views on sectors that will see maximum Change in Near Future

Originally Posted on: YouTube

Nagpur intellectuals say, only healthy talks can resolve Indo-Pak dispute

Nagpur: The NSA level meeting between India and Pakistan appears to be in a mess as the latter’s insistence on inclusion of talks with Kashmiri separatists and Kashmir dispute into the discussion has not gone down with India. Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said that Pakistan’s stand on the talks clearly violates the agreement signed between the two nations way back in 1998. Nagpur Today quizzed few senior journalists from the city and sought their take on resolving the long pending issues between the two nations

‘Diplomacy, a game of Chess’

Prakash Dubey, Group Editor, Dainik Bhaskar said only bilateral discussions can resolve the disputes between both the countries. Pakistan had resorted to such tactics in the past too.

However, noteworthy here is that the national advisors from both the countries have different orientation and backgrounds. India’s Ajit Dobhal belongs to Indian Intelligence Agency whereas his Pakistani counterpart is a politician. Both will be having confrontation for the first time.

Nothing can be said of how the two people from differing affiliations and backgrounds will match their discussion, he said. “Diplomacy is like a game of chess where beating is more important than defeating…Anyways the resolution only lies in discussion.”

Pradip MitraCan be Modi’s gameplan

Another senior journalist Pradeep Maitra said the dispute between India and Pakistan has turned too old and it is high time the two nations should come for the talks across the table. Mutual consent will only resolve the issues rather. Disrupting any talks in between and throwing it under the wraps is wrong.

Both the nations should call for Terror Regulatory Dialogue, he said, adding even if Kashmir is an issue it could be sorted out through talks. “We also need to see it from other perspective too, as it may the case that whatever we are seeing is just a strategy of Narendra Modi’s diplomacy.

The current scheme of things only tarnishes Pakistan’s image on international level, he quipped.

Pak’s internal politics a major hurdle Arun Lakhani

CMD of Orange City Waters and Vishwaraj Infrastructure Ltd., Arun Lakhani also advocates the importance of discussion in order to mend ties between the two nations. “Healthy discussions will be beneficial for both the countries, but Pakistan’s internal politics and instability has been creating hurdles in the way of negotiation.

Now Pakistan should look into the matter more seriously. Only the better bilateral ties will create conducive atmosphere for the healthy relations between both the countries. This will not only improve trade relations but also pave way for the development,” said Lakhani.

This New is Originally Posted on Nagpur Today

Runadhar Trust’s new approach to helping ryots’ kin

Nagpur: To provide stability to family members, especially children, of farmers who have committed suicide, nine prominent persons from the city have come together and established — Runadhar Charitable Society. They plan to establish a hostel and provide skill development training to kin of deceased farmers and monetary assistance every month. 

The nine persons include chairman of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited Arun Lakhani, who is president of the trust, corporator Sandip Joshi and Dr Pramod Giri, both vice-presidents, secretary Parag Saraf, joint-secretary Vrushali Deshpande, treasurer Dr Manoj Singarkhiya, and Dayal Mulchandani, Deepa Kale and Prashant Dani as members.

The society and its activities differ from that been done or planned by other social organizations. The team of nine persons established the trust two years ago. They appointed two students who had completed Master in Social Work and conducted a survey to find out what exactly is the main requirement for family members, especially children, of farmers who committed suicide.

Joshi told TOI the initiatives will begin from Nagpur and Wardha district and later across remaining areas of Vidarbha. "Our team's survey over two years included visits to houses of 350 families of deceased farmers in the two districts. One time or regular monetary assistance was not found to be a permanent solution. We realized the need to encourage and train the kin of deceased farmers to get employment or establish businesses. Therefore, we plan to establish a hostel in which skill development training will be given to only kin of deceased farmers along with accommodation in the city. Hostel project will be completed in current year itself. More activities will be planned 

in later stages," he said.

Joshi added that the project will begin with financial assistance to 100 families of deceased farmers. "We have identified 100 families from 14 tehsils in Wardha district and four tehsils in Nagpur district. We received response from 100 persons wishing to adopt a family each. We will deposit cheque of Rs4,000 per month in the account of all 100 families for one year. Then the initiative will be stopped, as we feel continuous financial assistance is not a solution. This is planned as we have to begin with some concrete step," he said.

The society has organized a programme to begin monetary assistance to 100 families on January 26. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will inaugurate the project and distribute cheques to the identified families.

The plan to begin from Wardha and Nagpur districts also differentiates the society's initiative from others. Most social organizations have started their initiatives in Yavatmal district despite the fact that farmers suicides are also witnessed in other districts of the region.

 This New is Originally Posted on The Time of India