 you are in your first leadership talk with Sri Rohit Kumar Singh. Welcome sir. Your department also deals with the standard. So when you are talking about all this, can we also or does the department also has anything to do about that you know this particular product? Is it really a sustainable one? Is it not creating any harm to the environment? Is it environment friendly or not friendly? So do we have something like that in your department also? So at the moment actually there is a great focus on that and in association association with Ministry of Environment and Forest, we are developing these standards of sustainability. Some are already developed. I will give an example. For example, single use plastic is banned. So what do you use? So people will say now you use this product which is a biodegradable plastic. Now if a plastic is to be biodegradable, you are very right. There has to be a standard. How will the user or even the company, a well-intentioned company know as to which is a biodegradable plastic. So last June, we came out with standards of biodegradable plastic. Similarly, on many other things in association with the Ministry of Environment, we are developing standards on this issue of sustainability and maybe I think we are planning next week, we will release a whole booklet on all these standards pertaining to sustainability put together for people who are more worried about environment and for their teaching. Yes, we as human beings in environment, we have to coexist in a very harmonious manner. Sir, another thought which is coming to my mind is that how to build consumer protection in future virtual economies that are likely to emerge and the kind of future we are envisioning and the kind of future we are heading to. So how to build this consumer protection? What as a layman, what would you like to tell to our viewers that these are few things which you should really be looking forward to or you should be checking in a specific product or a service whenever you are buying and you are paying for it. So you are right. We talked about e-commerce, but this is the next level higher and what is now called the metaverse. So it is a virtual world and issues like augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality, they will become very commonplace in this business of the consumer and the seller and you know, there will be immersive technologies. For example, you know, it has a huge potential in retail. So if you want to buy a suit and you are just checking it on your computer, so your avatar can actually try it and you can see how you look on the computer itself. But this is all great, but there are hidden issues which need to be addressed because even internet, there is no identity layer. When you go to a website, nobody knows who is checking the website and you also don't know the other side. Metaverse, this identity layer is further diffused. So suppose something goes wrong between a buyer and a seller, which is the fundamental of consumer protection. Then since your identities are not disclosed, who will you complain against? Where will you go? Which is the deciding authority? At the moment in conventional business, there is Consumer Protection Act, there is a framework. But Metaverse, there is no central controller. Metaverse is based on DAOs. These are decentralized administration organizations. And like I said about blockchain, it is spread. So there is no central authority which is in charge. So when in such a case, it is very difficult for a person with grievance, as long as everything is going smoothly, it is all good, then fast and quick. But when something goes wrong, where do you go? So we need to establish a system. Then issue of protection of intellectual property. If somebody is using my IP, where do I go and complain? What is the grievance reversal system? So all these need to be addressed. So generally, all these courts, they have a geographical jurisdiction. So in case of this diffused one, and when we enter this Metaverse, how this jurisdiction would be decided? Or it has to be a centralized jurisdiction? So that is the challenge we have to address. And even in e-commerce, so we have to write this, this is the jurisdiction. And we have courts in every district of the country, every state and at the national level. So we have to constantly work on new paradigms to address consumer issues in Metaverse. It's a big challenge. And it may not pertain to your ministry, but how about our data, our privacy, our protection of our time, our location, our payment gateways, which we are using. And even our payment history for that matter, our medical history and what kind of different thing. So would that also have something to do with your department? So partly, yes. But mostly these are the subjects of ministry of information technology. And as you would have read in the newspapers, the data protection bill and the digital India legislation, both are under preparation and they will be introduced in parliament. And they have provisions on how our personal data will be stored, how will it be used, who can access it. It's just like our Aadhaar numbers. Having an Aadhaar number is very good. But when you use it in a particular application, the user must be assured that it will not be misused by the person. You know, who's collecting that data. So Aadhaar is just one number. But when you go and buy on e-commerce, you're giving your name, your address, your preferences, your credit card number, your bank account number. So that has to be very, very fiercely protected. So in the future, I think data privacy and protection will be one of the biggest challenges for any country. A few years ago, our Prime Minister, the Prime Minister of Lalkile, first Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, then Jai Vigyan, and now Jai Anusan Dhan has joined us. So in your department, on innovations, on medicine, on Anusan Dhan, how many new ways to work, how much we enjoy, how much we try to make life better for them. So some innovations related to Anusan Dhan, tell us something like that. So apart from our business, the state of value, which is important in the market, which monitors the essential commodities in the market. So every day, we have about 400-450 places in the country, 22 essential commodities are being considered, which we collect and then we see the pattern of whether it is increasing or decreasing. And is there any need for an intervention, so that we can get the value from the state of value and the value does not increase significantly. So this thing, we are also going into predictive pricing by using technology. So we are using this AI-based tools, because it is like a lentil. lentil is an essential commodity that is eaten in every house. And it has its pros and cons, it has some imports. So by combining all of these, the demand and supply and sentiment based on pricing, if we can predict that after two months, if such a situation is going to come and we can take some action from it, then we are using technology in this, which you said was innovation. The other is, we are also responsible for the procurement of onions. Onion is a very perishable commodity. In the last few days, we focused on the 25% of the onions produced in India. The 25% is a big number, one-fourth of it gets spoiled. Because onions cannot be stored very much. In this, we tried to put a lot of thought into it. You did an onion challenge. We did an onion challenge. We did it with the AICT collaboration. We felt and we also told it to Mr. Uchitam that if we use technology to increase the life of onions in a month, then if 10% improvement is done in the efficiency of the storage of onions, then it can be useful for India for about Rs. 2-3,000 crores. Because it is wasted from an unnecessary group. For that, as you said, we did a grand onion challenge with the AICT, Dr. Abhay Jire. And it has a very good response. So, we did it in three ways. One is the idea that if you have a bright idea, then we will appreciate it and honour it and try to take it forward. So, researchers, institutes, individuals, professionals, it was open for everyone. We had a lot of ideas. The second stage is to convert the idea into a prototype. The idea is very good, but can we deploy it? It is practical. It is not practical. So, you have a lab condition, a prototype in it. And the third is that the prototype is fine. But does it have scalability in this idea? Can it be deployed throughout India? So, in these three sets, we have graded the ideas of the onion challenge and categorized them. And our experts have sorted it out. And we will take it forward from next week and develop this idea further. So, are we using any kind of technology or cold storage? Or are we looking at supply chain? So that this onion will not be damaged? So, there are three things in the storage of the onion. One is temperature, one is humidity and one is air circulation. So, what is the optimal mix of this? One is this. And the second is some technologies like irradiation, which is irradiated with the Cobalt 65 isotope. In that, we are talking to the Department of Atomic Energy as well. What can its shelf life increase? So, the combination of irradiation and storage is also increasing. But the most important thing in all these things is its cost effectiveness. How much cost will it take and how much will it benefit? Unless that is balanced or that is optimal, then there is no point going ahead with it. So, this is one of the most important factors. So, do you think that in the next one month or 15 days, the situation of the implementation of the onion challenge will come? Right, it will definitely come in a month. And now you have thought about tomato challenges. So, like onions, that is also a perishable. So, it is a challenge more than onions. It is highly perishable. So, unlike onion, which is a processed form, like puree, ketchup or other products, it should be converted immediately. But for that too, the market should be applied, the processing facility should be applied. So, with the Ministry of Food Processing and AICT, our next target is the tomato challenge. In India, so that the farmer gets more production, the prices get crashed. Many times you must have seen this in the newspaper, people threw it on the streets, you are not getting even 2 rupees, you are not getting even 1 rupee per kilo. So, if such a situation does not come, and over production and under production are both in this situation, how to balance the storage and processing, we work on this. Yes. So, when you have done the onion challenge, and now we are talking about the tomato challenge, then you have given our youth work, our new students, who have given technical education in colleges and universities. So, from your point of view, and you have just seen, because now the whole India is starting up, incubation, it is increasing. So, do you have a new style in the field, that the demand, the enthusiasm and the start-up, because our first social transformation, perhaps the start-ups were not given as much importance as the start-ups. So, have you interacted with the children? Absolutely. I have done it on VC, and I go to colleges a lot of times. I like what you have said, seeing how much difference we have now in our time. The exposure of the children, the confidence level of the children, the passion of the children, and the desire to do something for India, it was a little subdued in our time. And at this time, it seems very good to see, because the start-ups were taken from the Prime Minister, and the entire government, the entire administration, the entire administration, everybody is supporting. So, it seems very good to see, that both on the supply side and the demand side, there is improvement. And the children are happy to do new things with passion. And the biggest thing, which is why the American economy is a little ahead of us, is that stigma for failure, is that if I fail, then there is nothing to worry about, try something else. This thing was a little less in our time. The stigma of failure in our time, was very high, and there are bankruptcy codes, or other things. Through them, I think, there is a kind of atmosphere in India, that you can fail, but you can rise and get up again, and do something else, which is a big change that I have seen. Our failure is a social vision code, but just like you said, the Bankruptcy Code, you are also in the US, and in the US and China, still in the start-up and incubation, are ahead of India, so we are still in the third position. So, you feel, that the results of our failure, or the consequences, or the Bankruptcy Code, in today's environment, in your time, are very different, because of all of a sudden, now you see, not only Unicorn, but even they call it Decacon, they are also ahead of that. So, you feel, that because of that, a whole generation, or the start-up of incubation, has been created, has been created in a crush. Absolutely, and in the last 5 years, there has been a huge change, and like before, a Bankruptcy, he used to think of it as a criminal activity, or he has done some fraud, he did not think that it is a well-intentioned idea, it just failed, because any idea can fail. So, that person is not a bad intention, he is not a criminal. He tried something new, he failed. Now, he is seen in that environment, and he is seen in this environment, and then he has decided to do a new thing, which was the first absent, first he failed, and then he became depressed, and then he became demotivated by doing a new thing. That is not present, that I am seeing in the young generation. You have led a very, very important government initiative in reviving public-private partnership in national highways, and very key policy interventions were there, like hybrid annuity model through appropriate risk allocation, and then for the first time, I think it resulted in one of the largest FTI in the highway sector, amounting to 1.5 billion US dollar. I think it has been one of your greatest achievements. So, I would like you to touch upon this and tell us in greater details that how such initiatives can benefit the whole nation. So, you have to see that the whole world is changing, and the governments and the private sector, they have to work together if a country has to succeed, and it is not that that the government should know or even otherwise, the private sector should be there, the government should not be there. I think both have to co-exist and both have to be meaningful partners. So, that is why this public-private partnership is very important, and especially in sectors like national highways, where I have worked for six years in the central ministry and NHAI, this is even more important because these are capital-intensive projects. There is hundreds of thousands of crores required to develop highways and other infrastructure. So, you have to partner with private sectors because they have the capital, they have the managerial efficacy, they have access to finance. So, but it is government's responsibility to develop a model so that their risk is minimized because if there is big risks, they will not come into this because they are in the business of doing business. So, why in this hybrid anonymity model, we mitigated the risk of the private sector so that it is appropriately balanced. And, although I would like to say here that when we made this model, I think in 2016, when we bid the first project, there was not a single bid on it. I was very disappointed. This was the road of Himachal Pradesh. I made a bid on it from Neer Chowk to Keeratpur. We bid it and no bid was made on it. So, I was very disappointed in my room and a private sector member came to meet me. He said, Sir, why are you so worried? I said, Look, we have developed it with so much effort and it is not working. So, he said Sir, I would like to suggest something. He said that the return period of its financing and its curve, he said that all of this should be tapered. He said, Sir, the period of recovery of the private sector is 15 years. In India, the bank gives loans for 12 years and you have kept all the recovery in 13, 14, 15 years in the private sector. So, there is no problem. As soon as he came out of my room, I called my team, we changed that girl. We went to our minister, we approved her, then she went to the cabinet again. And after that, from today, I think more than 1.5 million people in India are becoming part of this model and it is a win-win partnership between government and the private sector. So, that is how some things revolve. So, I want to, you know, for the young people who are watching this, there are two lessons here. One is, you should never do anything new. You have to keep trying, do you see? And if you fail in the beginning, then you should not be afraid of it. You should get into the reasons because all failures are lessons. And you should take lessons, you should take advice, and then start again and you will succeed. So, this PPP, the second thing we did was monetization. There are so many assets in the public sector in India, but we want to withdraw money from it and put it in new projects. For that, monetization, we talked about monetization. So, we developed a model of monetization. We went to all the countries around the world and talked about how it can be done. And then after that, and after that, we got the first bundle of $1.5 billion as an investment from Australia. After that, we moved on. So, there is no, there is no substitute of hard work. There is no substitute of engaging with the other side. If you think you know everything, you should constantly engage with what is happening in other parts of the world. You should talk to your partners and never get deterred by the failures. That is the lessons that I have learned from my two big successes. That's right. Now, this is the end of our conversation. I will ask you which one of those books which are your favorite, about your hobbies, and what message would you like to give to our youngsters? You have just given a message, especially what you want to tell them about your hobbies and your favorite book. So, my favorite book is a commentary on Bhagavad Gita. And you must read, everybody must read that book. If you have a problem in reading it, then a lot of commentaries are available in its market. And its charm is that you never get deterred. You keep doing your work and success will follow you. You don't have to work by looking at the success. You have to keep doing your work and success will follow you. And sometimes it takes more time. Sometimes it takes less time. But never get deterred by that. I think that is the key. And the other is that and there are some, I watch a lot of films because I get a lot of I mean one is of course for entertainment. But I also see the art and the lessons that we derive from the films. So, there are two English films which I think everybody must see. They are great entertainers also. One is called the Shawshank Redemption. And its IMDb is also the highest. The highest. And the other is called the Life is Beautiful which is by an Italian director. Mr. Benini is one of the most famous director but it's with English subtitles. So, in both the movies again the same message is there. Never give up. You know you should keep trying and then the success will be yours. Sometimes I see young generation kids come to me. I am going. Don't go. Keep trying. Keep trying. And have somebody who is your mentor and you don't have to be a Nobel Prize winner. Mentors can be in the family. It can be your elder brother, your mother, your father, your teacher, there should be a person who is your sounding board who you can share your successes, failures whatever it is and you can get honest advice from them. Sometimes getting honest advice is very difficult. I think we should always look for people and be friends with them. The truthful ones. Because they say good things but they don't want to say they are not doing good things. Anyway people should be around you in your life. Thank you so much sir. It was such a pleasure being with you and in conversation with you. Thank you so very much.