Ambitious young men and women do not have to wait to complete college to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions, especially if the venture can bring about a social change.

A number of student ventures are coming up and implementing social projects in and around the city, thanks to entrepreneurship networks that are guiding them. The Enactus Club of Rajalakshmi Engineering College (REC) is one such. Over a year ago, students started a project at a slum in MMDA Colony where they trained 20 women to make sweets from millets.

They registered the brand as ‘Dhaniyam,’ which is retailed at supermarkets, near temples and at kiosks.

“Today, it is a self-sustaining project where women earn a monthly income. Now we only help manage their accounts and marketing,” says R. Varuneshwaran, president of Enactus REC. The engineering students recently embarked on another project at a slum in Ramapuram and trained six women to make ragi biscuits.

“We thought biscuits will have a wider market. The ragi is sourced from farmers directly,” says Varuneshwaran.

There are many such student clubs that are bringing out a change. Students of Ethiraj College for Women are working at a slum in Thideer Nagar where women are trained in mushroom cultivation.

“In Chennai, we have 12 colleges that have started a social enterprises,” says Anitha Dhanasekharan, South India programme manager of Enactus.

This is something regular Chennai Metro Rail commuters often witness on trains and at stations — first-time travellers clicking selfies endlessly. Even a month after the launch of the service between Koyambedu and Alandur, the selfie spree seems to continue.

Some of the tweets read: “@dnivra26: Scientists have found that 2 out of 3 in Chennai Metro take a selfie #Chennai”, “@typo writer: Is Chennai Metro achieving required target? Am on Sunday morning train. People come as a family to take selfies only?”

Just when the service was launched, officials of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) said people were not allowed to take photographs inside the stations and trains. But selfies are an exception.

After being frustrated with the pathetic maintenance of suburban and MRTS stations, people of Chennai are more than happy about the Metro and praising it very often on the social media.

If CMRL extends this service to the airport and other parts of the city soon, the patronage may increase significantly.

source: the hindu