Tag: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO, Paytm
Business World

Paytm aims at raising Rs 10 crores to acquire 3,000 Oxygen Concentrators to fight shortage

Apr 27, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Founder & CEO, #Paytm, #Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Mumbai, 27th April 2021: India’s leading digital financial services platform Paytm today announced that Paytm Foundation that aims to support citizens in their hour of need will acquire & import over 3,000 Oxygen Concentrators (OCs) to fight Covid-19 and the ongoing oxygen shortage in the country. It has launched a nationwide ‘Oxygen for India’ initiative to create more awareness about the issue. While Paytm Foundation has already placed an order for importing 1,000 Oxygen Concentrators worth Rs 4 crore, it is aiming to further raise over Rs 10 crore. The company is encouraging citizens to join the cause by pledging to match every rupee contribution by users. It has raised over Rs 1.5 crore within hours of starting the campaign, and with Paytm’s contribution of matching the amount, the total amount raised by Paytm Foundation has reached over 3 crores.

The country is going through an unprecedented oxygen crisis and needs all kinds of oxygen support including large oxygen tankers, oxygen cylinders as well as Oxygen Concentrators that can produce oxygen locally. Realising that the country does not have an adequate supply of OCs, the foundation decided to swing into action and search globally for these devices. With aim of saving a maximum number of lives, the foundation is working on tie-ups with sourcing partners to import over 30,000 OCs to India in due course.

Paytm has started this initiative and will bring in OCs from abroad at war footing. It is also reaching out to like-minded startups to join in the initiative and place orders for OCs along with the foundation to bulk up orders. The company hopes that people will contribute wholeheartedly, which it will match rupee for rupee & raise over Rs. 10 crore in a short period of time.

The company will collect demand requests from hospitals for oxygen concentrators on the Paytm app itself. It will give first preference to government hospitals, then private, smaller clinics, and finally Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs). The list will be available to the public view to maintain maximum transparency and accountability. The service will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis or need-based in case of emergency. Hospitals will have to furnish details of requirements, address, as well as the name of the coordinator.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO, Paytm said, “India is going through an unprecedented oxygen crisis right now and there are all kinds of oxygen support needed, large oxygen tankers, oxygen cylinders & then something that can produce oxygen locally which is oxygen concentrators. I also call upon other startups, businesses to join us and match rupee to rupee contribution to double the supply of oxygen concentrators. It will be a great support for India in the present oxygen crisis. I am sure by pooling in our resources we will be able to fight this crisis and come out stronger.”

Since the start of the pandemic, Paytm has taken several initiatives to support India’s fight against the spread of COVID-19. Last year, it raised hundreds of crores for the PM-Care fund with support from citizens and also distributed over 10 million hygiene kits to frontline workers and Covid warriors. It fed over 20 million meals to migrant workers going back home to their loved ones. It also worked dedicatedly to revamp the Paytm app UI with a ‘Stay at home Essential payments’ section to include Mobile & DTH Recharge, electricity, water, gas, credit card & insurance premium payment among others.

Business World

Harvard University Announces Fund from Vijay Shekhar Sharma for Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute

Dec 7, 2020 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Director of the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, #Harvard University, #Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, #Tarun Khanna, #University Provost Alan Garber, #Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Mumbai: Harvard University is delighted to announce a new gift from India’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, which will support the activities and research performed by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute (LMSAI). With this gift, every year two bright and promising students from India would receive a scholarship to pursue their research at Harvard and work towards transforming the lives of millions in India and abroad.

By enabling scholars from South Asia to work in a cross-disciplinary fashion with faculty, researchers, and students across Harvard on critical questions and issues related to the region, Sharma’s gift will significantly enhance the goals of the Institute to deepen the teaching and research on significant cultural and global issues related to South Asia.

“Recent months have confirmed that the most pressing societal challenges are global in nature,” said University Provost Alan Garber. “We are deeply grateful to Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Through his generosity, he has affirmed our shared commitment to advancing cross-disciplinary research and learning in our interconnected world. His vision for a more collaborative future has never been timelier. We are proud to partner with him.”

“Further expanding Harvard’s work and partnerships in India is a major priority for the University,” said Vice Provost for International Affairs Mark Elliott. “This fund, which will provide leading South Asian scholars in all fields with new opportunities to pursue their research at Harvard, will bring benefits to them and their home institutions as well as to the Harvard community. In this way, this new program will do much to strengthen and broaden the kinds of academic connections we depend upon to help deepen our engagement with South Asian partners and to advance our academic mission globally,” he continued.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the Founder CEO of India’s largest payments company, Paytm. He has played a critical role in developing the mobile payments and digital age financial services ecosystem in India. A strong believer in the power of technology to uplift the underserved, Sharma founded Paytm in August 2010. Paytm counts Alibaba, Ant Group, Softbank, and Berkshire Hathaway as its shareholders. He has a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications from the Delhi College of Engineering.

“I believe that good education can change an individual’s life in the most profound ways. My father, who was a teacher, believed that the world can be positively changed through education. His teachings are my inspiration to make this contribution to Harvard University. Harvard’s integrity, diversity, and commitment to excellence are exemplary. I hope this gift will help future leaders attain the global vision that would help in transforming the lives of millions for the better in India and beyond,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Sharma has seen firsthand the transformational powers of education. Inspired by the work of his father, he has helped students in their pursuit of a promising future through his support for several foundations that assist the educational pursuits of thousands of students. Additionally, Sharma has been named the UN Environment’s “Patron for Clean Air,” where he helps to drive greater environmental action and awareness, and advocates for the goals of UN Environment’s global “BreatheLife” campaign.

Tarun Khanna, Director of the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School, highlighted the importance of creating a robust platform for knowledge-sharing, connecting those who may not otherwise have had the chance to interact. “We continue to increase the number of interdisciplinary programs and fellowships offered at the Mittal Institute, welcoming scholars of South Asia to share their research and partner with Harvard’s faculty and students. Thanks to Vijay’s generosity, we move closer to a critical mass of diverse perspectives and ideas at the Institute that deepen the world’s understanding of South Asia, from all disciplines and angles,” he said.

Each year, the Mittal Institute supports the research endeavors of numerous scholars from South Asia, providing them with opportunities to interact with Harvard’s faculty, students, and the larger community for knowledge-sharing and the potential formation of new research partnerships. “This gift from Vijay will make it possible for young scholars of South Asia — who may have limited access to resources, but are highly talented — to have the opportunity to engage with the intellectual community at Harvard in ways that would make a lasting impact on their personal and professional development,” said Meena Hewett, Executive Director of the Mittal Institute.

With this generous gift, the Mittal Institute will continue to build its hub of scholars across all disciplines to further enrich the understanding of South Asia both in Cambridge and abroad.

Business World

5 Indian entrepreneurs who succeeded without IIT or IIM education

Oct 22, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Amith Agarwal, #Ashish Hemrajani, #Byju Raveendran, #Ritesh Agarwal, #Vijay Shekhar Sharma

India’s education system is evolving every passing second. IITs and IIMs have proved themselves by the impact they have made in the entrepreneurial sector. When it comes to Start-ups, Corporate CEOs and Entrepreneurs and their pedigreed educational qualifications, the top names that first come into your mind are the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM). Naturally, parents want their kids to get into these two organizations to achieve the ultimate “success” in life. For some time now, a notable trend has been observed that most students who want to make it big in the corporate world, aim for these two institutes. But are these institutes really necessary to build a successful business, or make it huge in the corporate sector? Definitely NOT! There are many famous and successful Founders and CEOs in India who have never been to IIT or IIM. To add to the motivation for India’s young crowed, here are five such names, who clearly don’t owe their success to these two institutes:

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder, Paytm:

With absolutely no connection with the IITs or IIMs, founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma made his way to the top with PayTm reaching everyone in the digital world. The journey from one 97 to PayTm whose current value is a little over $3 billion in the market in 2016, a dreamt when he was struggling to make ends meet with Rs 10 in the pocket but he tasted victory the hard way. Nothing came easy for him. The tears he hides behind the chirpy self that he puts up in front of the world could not be hidden for long while recollecting his journey. Interestingly, it was not talking about his failures that brought tears to his eyes; it was his hard-earned victory.

Byju Raveendran, Founder, Byju’s:

The man who created one of the most successful education technology ventures in the country never went to an IIT or an IIM. Coming from a humble background, Byju did his schooling in Azhikode village in Kannur district of Kerala; his medium of instruction was Malayalam. His parents wanted him to be a doctor, but Byju went on to graduate from Government Engineering College in Kannur. He started his teaching career in 2006, and eventually went on to hire his own students (IIM graduates) in 2011 when he founded Think and Learn, the parent company to BYJU’s App. Today, BYJU’s is one of the newest Unicorns on the block. It has 2,300 employees and its investors include Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative.

Amith Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, Agribazaar:

A visionary who wants to change the way farming is done in India; Mr. Amith Agarwal is the CEO and Co-founder of AgriBazaar.com. As the CEO of the company, Amith is actively building relationships and business opportunities by collaborating with state and central governments, agri-boards, co- operatives and Farmer Producer Network. In his pursuit to empower the agrarian sector through a sustained business approach, Amith laid the foundation of Agribazaar in the year 2016. He has been driving the vision and growth of the company ever since. Amith has done Executive Development Program (EDP) from Harvard Business School and is an MBA with a specialization in Economics; Marketing from the Chetana Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai. He is also a member of CII, TiE and various state farmer and Industry associations.

Ashish Hemrajani, Founder, BookMyShow:

If you ask the startup ecosystem about Ashish Hemrajani, many people will say he is an astute businessman. But those who have seen him up close focus on the character, ethics, and practicality he brings to the system. The Mumbai-based entrepreneur pursued his undergraduate degree from Mithibai College and went on to pursue his MBA from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. Ashish used to travel as far as 30 km for two years to pursue his master’s degree.

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms:

Ritesh Agarwal, a boy from a remote town of Bissam Cuttack in Odisha, started the business at the mere age of 17. He went to the Indian School of Business and Finance in Delhi. At the age of 18, he started OYO Rooms, India’s largest budget hotel chain, spread across more than 160 cities.