An individual whose courage is greater than his strength, who is moving ahead with his high spirit and positive attitude. A person with a growth mindset whose intense desire to learn and experience something new made him go places, preventing him from being grabbed by fears and insecurities of future. He spent his childhood in deprivation due to his father's untimely demise, who died three months before his birth. But, through his ability, he got enrolled in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Allahabad, to study up to class 12th and later secured admission to a government college to study engineering.
After graduating in engineering, instead of doing a traditional job, he chose to do social work in Naugarh, a Naxal-affected area of Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh State. He served as a representative of a Member of Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pradesh State, at 24. After working with bureaucrats and politicians, he also extended contact with academicians and media stalwarts and worked with them to expand his learnings.
This is the story of the inspiring journey of Naveen Krishna Rai. Starting his journey from Gorakhpur, due to his courage, intellect and persistence, he has managed to make his mark into Lutyens' Delhi in a very short time,
Proficient in strategy making and networking:
From the very beginning, Naveen loved meeting people, planning events, and going out of his way to create an impact through his work. Due to his inclination and interest, while pursuing his engineering studies, Naveen successfully undertook many social endeavors under the guidance of bureaucrats. After completing his engineering, he could have chosen to do an excellent job in any company if he wanted. But he chose the difficult path of working in a Naxal-affected area with a bureaucrat. There he made his marks with his works. After working with bureaucrats, he worked with politicians and eminent academicians. Naveen never felt insecure about his future; thus, he was able to get experience in different areas of society at a very young age.
Whatever person or organization he worked with, he would make sure that he was learning something new while working. His urge to learn kept him moving forward, and his journey has been going from one institution to another. This is why he successfully got the experience of working with different types of people and sectors of society at a very young age. Being courageous, fearless and confident, he never hesitates to meet or talk to anyone. His good social understanding, the experience of working with veterans of different fields and his innateness are enough to win anyone’s heart. Because of these skills, he has gained mastery in strategy and networking.
Worked with seasoned academics in IIMs:
Naveen has achieved many milestones in diverse fields at a very young age. He has worked on the project of Cadre Restructuring, Department of Commercial Taxes, Uttar Pradesh as a Research Assistant at IIM Lucknow and is currently working as Manager, Government Affairs and Business Development at IIM Indore.
While working with IIM Indore as a manager, he has been instrumental in successfully materializing the collaborations of IIM Indore with various government and non-government institutions like UP Police, MP Police, Indore, Lucknow, Ayodhya, and Kanpur Municipal Corporations, Tourism Department, UP Govt, Panchayati Raj, and Rural Development Department, Urban Development and Housing Department and MP Industrial Development Corporation, MP Govt. etc.
Worked with various IAS officers and politicians:
Naveen started the "Rural Youth Leadership Program" in 2015 under the guidance of the then-District Magistrate of Gorakhpur Ranjan Kumar and Chief Development Officer Kumar Prashant during his engineering studies. Through this program, leadership training sessions were conducted, benefitting 100 selected youth of the Gorakhpur district for 45 days.
After this, in 2016, under the guidance of the then Divisional Commissioner of Gorakhpur Division, P Guruprasad, he adopted Motiram Adda village and worked for its overall development. There he started the program "Attendance with Selfie", which helped the administration ensure an increase in the attendance of teachers; later, this program was implemented by District Magistrate Kumar Prashant in the entire district. Impressed by his work, he was also made the "Brand Ambassador for Development" of Navgarh tehsil of Chandauli district. After working with District Magistrate Kumar Prashant in Chandauli, Naveen understood the nuances of politics while being a representative of Dhananjay Kanojia, MLA of Belthra Road Assembly of Ballia district, UP.
A resident of Ghazipur district and an alumnus of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya:
Naveen originally hails from Birpur village situated on the banks of Ganga in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. He was also born into a modest family. His father, a soldier, died three months before his birth. After his death, Naveen was brought up by his mother with struggle. Thus, since childhood, he was brought up with struggle. After elementary education, he completed further studies at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Allahabad. Later, he studied B.Tech at Madan Mohan Malaviya Technological University, Gorakhpur. Along with his studies, his interest in extra collicular work also increased. He established the Social Engineer Board in the university itself, which still works on many issues of personality development of the students.
Lost his father 3 months before his birth:
Despite not being under the shadow of his father, Naveen has reached this stage at such a young age. He has created an exception by developing an understanding of politics, management, media, and bureaucracy and maintaining close relations with various people associated with him, which is rare among people his age.
He considers Swami Vivekananda his idol and Professor Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore as his mentor. He believes that whatever he is today, the education he received in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya greatly contributes to it. Naveen is a role model and source of inspiration for the youth of India.
