TechSangam
Improving air quality by fixing roads

Improving air quality by fixing roads

April 03, 20252 mins

Imagine this. Your local municipal body fixes all the potholes and broken road stretches in your city’s ward. Besides improving mobility (till the next monsoon), it also improves air quality in your…

Deep dive into IIC (Impact Investors Council)

Deep dive into IIC (Impact Investors Council)

April 01, 20255 mins

Executive Summary The Impact Investors Council (IIC) in India has over 65 members, including impact investment firms, venture capital funds, family offices, foundations, banks, and development…

Chennai Parking Policy Highlights - 2025

Chennai Parking Policy Highlights - 2025

March 27, 20253 mins

This article is a summary of CUMTA’s ‘Parking Policy for CMA’ [PDF] which presents the comprehensive Parking Policy and Strategy & Action Plan for the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), approved by the…

Masai School: the Messiah for Tier 3 city learners?

Masai School: the Messiah for Tier 3 city learners?

February 08, 20242 mins

Masai School is the first Omidyar portfolio company I decided to look at after news broke of Omidyar Network exiting India. Masai is not the only outcome driven career school in India. Sure it is…

Dignity starts with a job

Dignity starts with a job

January 24, 20242 mins

Upaya Social Ventures (Upaya SV) was founded 12 years ago to create dignified jobs for people living in extreme poverty by building scalable businesses with investment and consulting support. Upaya is…

Naya Kya Hai?

Naya Kya Hai?

January 12, 20242 mins

(For non-Hindi readers, Naya Kya Hai means “What’s New”) Let me start by telling you what is NOT new. It’s December-end (early-Jan) and I’m 4 ~2 weeks away from racing yet another Tata Mumbai Marathon…

Is Impact Investing Dead?

Is Impact Investing Dead?

December 16, 20233 mins

(Created with Bing Image Creator/Dalle-3 using “impact investing is dead. long live impact investing”) This was the first question that popped up when I heard about Omidyar India’s news. And then I…

Good economics for hard times

Good economics for hard times

November 30, 20235 mins

Back in 2011, I took my longest ever career sabbatical (15+ months) which would eventually lead me to “start up” for the second time. Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Poverty…

MacKenzie's blistering pace of giving

MacKenzie's blistering pace of giving

January 01, 20214 mins

Giving Pledge to $5.9 billion in 19 months On Jan 9, 2019 Jeff Bezos tweeted his divorce announcement, ending his 25-year old marriage with MacKenzie Scott. The divorce would eventually be finalized…

The other Nilekani

The other Nilekani

November 29, 20205 mins

Philanthropy’s changing gender? Philanthropy has been overwhelmingly male-driven because (obviously) it’s men who’ve accumulated enormous surplus of wealth across eras and industries. In the last 2…