NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, May 4, 2009

BANGALORE: Creating products and services for the bottom of the pyramid is the sweet spot where social objectives marry economic benefits. After cars and mobile calls, developers and social entrepreneurs are looking at creating ‘Nano’ homes.

On the anvil are houses for between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for a constituency as diverse as domestic help, taxi drivers, plumbers, senior citizens, graduates, newly wed couples – basically, those who earn between Rs 6,500 and Rs 13,000 a month.

Janaagraha founder Ramesh Ramanathan, MphasiS founder Jaithirth Rao and CSC Constructions are some whose plans have gone beyond the drawing board. Till now, the onus was on the government to cater to the needs of the under-privileged.