A guest lecture was held for S.Y.B.COM Business Environment students on the 06th of September 2018 from 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm on the topic “Business of E-waste Management”. The resource person for the guest lecture was Mr. Soham Prabhu, Proprietor of Global E-waste Management Systems. He has completed his B.E in Computers. He has worked as a Network and Backup Storage Engineer, AXA Technologies Shared Services, Bangalore. He obtained his e-waste license in 2014. In December 2016, Global E-waste Management Systems was formed as the first company in Goa to be authorized by GSPCB to collect and dismantle e-waste. The resource person was introduced and welcomed by Asst. Prof. Averyl Pires.
Mr Soham introduced his business to students as the only dismantlers of e-waste authorized by the Goa State Pollution Control Board. After obtaining license for this business in December 2016, they have provided their services to Corporate and government organizations like Smartlink, Finolex Cables Limited, Schiffer and Menezes India Private Limited, UB group, Citizen Credit Co-operative Bank Limited and Department of Commercial taxes, Government of Goa. He then introduced the concept of e-waste as any electronic products that have become unwanted, non-working and have reached the end of their useful life. The various sources of e-waste at home, hospitals, Government offices and private sector areas were discussed. Further, he briefly explained the business environment of his e-waste management system.
The resource person explained the trends of e-waste where in India has emerged as the fifth largest electronic waste producer in the world. Computer devices account for nearly 70% of e-waste, with the contribution of telecom sector being 12%, medical equipment being 8%, and electric equipments being 7% of the annual e-waste production. India’s production of e-waste is likely to increase by nearly three times, from the existing 18 lakhs metric tons (MT) to 52 lakhs MT per annum by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 30%. A mere 1.5% of India’s total e-waste gets recycled due to poor infrastructure, legislation and framework which leads to a waste of diminishing natural resources, irreparable damage of environment and health of the people working in industry. Over 95% of e-waste generated is managed by the unorganized sector and scrap dealers in this market. He also explained the various hazardous components of electronic items that can affect human life and need to be recycled.
Mr. Soham explained to the students his struggle to find a job after he completed his B.E. In Bangalore he started his first job in AXA Technologies Shared Services for which there were around 3000 candidates who had applied for it. He insisted that students should not wait to work under someone, but innovate and start their own business. He highlighted the importance of job satisfaction, market study, responsibility and persistence on a regular basis with the same level of motivation which will definitely take them to higher levels of success.
Students put forth a number of queries about type of licenses that need to be obtained, process of registration, partnership for business, actual role of his business, how the e-waste is treated, funding for his business, Government schemes for business etc. The vote of thanks was proposed by Ms. Praseedhi Naik. This lecture was attended by a total of 37 students. The session was enlightening and a good motivating factor for students to find a suitable area to start a business.
