Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Nagpur had the privilege of hosting Mr. Gaurav Sangtani, Founder of Jigyasa Foundation for a guest lecture on October 18, 2020. Mr. Gaurav Sangtani is an educationist who gave a very insightful lecture on ‘Disruption in Business Reporting’. He guided the students on the importance of disruption in business reporting and how it helps a business to function and survive in the market.

The following is an excerpt from the interview with him-

Q1) What motivated you to start the Jigyasa foundation and what challenges did you face while overcoming the same?

Ans. Education in our country is based on grades and competition, our schools and colleges have not changed and are working on the same old story for decades. Education is based more on the concept of learning. The idea of Jigyasa is to make education interesting and to change the education system of our country through research. Jigyasa believes “if you make it interesting anything can be learned.”

No challenges were faced while working with Jigyasa. As long as it’s the right path, any challenge would seem like an opportunity.

Q2) Do you think advanced business reporting works can be applied to small and medium-sized enterprises considering the capital constraints?

Ans. Generally, there are no capital constraints. Today technology is available at a very reasonable price, these technologies will be available as a part of the package you are using. A small business may not need an AI model to sort out its invoices because the volume is low. Hence, advanced business reporting depends upon the need of the business. Whenever there is a need, technology becomes available with time, at a reasonable price.

Q3) Apart from BFSI and E-Commerce, which industries according to you can enhance their system through AI and blockchain technology?

Ans. A complex business model may require the use of blockchain technology. However, AI can be used in almost every industry, from a small scale to a large scale. There isn’t any specific industry that can reap the benefits of AI and blockchain technology. Technology disruption which was there before the pandemic will accelerate because there would be more pressure and more incentive to complete the tasks faster. Every industry would be affected by the technological disruption, leaving those that are already automated.

Q4) Do you anticipate a future, where AI can predict human wants and needs preemptively? If so, how would the future job roles look like? Would it affect the future job scenario?

Ans. AI has already been predicting this as it has integrated itself into most aspects of life. Companies know what the consumers want even before they realise it. The risk is not that they know our demand ahead of time, the risk is that they might create a demand which doesn’t even exist today. The tasks at the mental level are already automated and with the help of AI, even complicated tasks are getting automated, showcasing that this trend is going to stay for a long time. But, three things will remain human for a very long time called the 3Cs ‘Curiosity, Creativity, Clarity’. Curiosity in your input, Creativity in your process, and Clarity in your output.

Q5) Since everything has moved online these days, so have our seminars. So how was your experience at IMT Nagpur?

Ans. The overall experience was great. It was a great session and the students asked a lot of good questions as the batch was very inquisitive. The process of communication and rehearsal was smooth.