The new chair of Young Indians, Baibhav Agarwal, has big plans for the organization

Agarwal is not just a champion of numbers and accounting, but he is also an advocate of new ideas 

A self-driven man, Baibhav Agarwal is the new chair of the Young Indians Kolkata Chapter. A chartered accountant by profession, Agarwal is not just a champion of numbers and keeping accounts but he favors new ideas as well. He joined Young Indians in 2018 and became notably active in the organization by late 2020.

His dedication was evident in his significant contributions to key projects such as Dream Believe Magic (DBM) and the Young Indians Finance Initiative (YiFi). In 2023 he was inducted as the co-chair and now as the chair he intends to use different verticals of YI to foster bigger dreams. It’s a big responsibility and opportunity as well. How do you aim to approach the new role?

Yes, it’s a big responsibility and opportunity for me. Together, we are unstoppable and I focus on making it a year of discovery, growth, and unparalleled success for each one of us individually and the chapter overall. You have held the role of co-chair and observed the workings and the potential of the organization from close quarters.

What will be your focus areas now and tell us about your achievements so far? We have multiple verticals in the chapter and some of our main initiatives this year will be around health with particular attention on mental wellness, drug abuse, and glaucoma testing.

Through Rural Initiatives we are uplifting villages by installing biogas plants, and rainwater harvesting projects to provide clean drinking water and training them for entrepreneurial skill sets. With Entrepreneurship we will be imparting financial literacy to kids and with Accessibility, we are launching Braille menus across F&B outlets and running a campaign for employment of specially-abled individuals.

Earlier I was heading the Rural Initiatives vertical where one of the most significant projects we did was to install a sanitary pad manufacturing unit where we are making 30,000 biodegradable pads every month in Godhkhali in the Sundarbans. On the professional front, you are a chartered accountant and also big on entrepreneurship.

Yes, I am a CA and I want to leverage ICAI and bring them on board as a knowledge partner. We onboarded ICAI-EIRC as one of our Yuva verticals and we are doing multiple awareness sessions with them. Two big things are coming up with them — a mentorship program and a big entrepreneurial and financial conclave with them named YiFi. How do you intend to balance work life and YI life?

It’s been tough but I am trying to balance it to the best of my capabilities. I start my day at 4 am, which is helping me set priorities at work. Having a fantastic and dedicated executive committee has been extremely beneficial to Yi. Moreover, I’ve been enjoying every moment of it and this truly is making it easier for me to balance my work and Yi life.

How do you want to cater to this section and fuel their passion?

We have an Entrepreneurship vertical and Innovation vertical and we enable youth to come forward and involve them in fruitful sessions. This time we are planning to do a hackathon and also a mentorship programme for them.

What kind of events, big and small, can we expect during your tenure?

We want to ensure that all our verticals make a powerful and meaningful impact on nation-building in some way or the other with varied events throughout the year. We will host multiple speakers, phenomenal workshops, peer-to-peer learning sessions, and the like. Another highlight of the year is the Yi Championship which will bring an array of sporting and non-sporting events for the members.

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