DIY generation: Self-Starter
Basak's home in the remote village of Fulia in Nadia district has a high number of school and college students.
For Kuheli Basak, born in a family that survived on just Rs 3,000 a month, fulfilling even the most basic needs was a luxury.
Her schooling and professional education would have remained a pipe dream if not for Kanyashree Prakalpa, a West Bengal government scheme funding girls for higher studies.
"I was able to study till standard 12 because of Kanyashree and my earnings from giving tuitions in the locality," she says. After finishing school, Basak received a grant of Rs 25,000 under the scheme and used it to set up a shop with photocopying and mobile recharging facilities.
Basak's home in the remote village of Fulia in Nadia district has a high number of school and college students. But there was no photocopying outlet.
Catering to a growing need, she took an asbestos shed on rent and bought a photocopier-printer and a computer. Business boomed from the word go.
"There is also a big clientele for filling online forms and scanning pictures for school projects," says Basak, who is now thinking of expansion. "I am planning to sell mobile accessories, headphones and mobile covers to increase my income."
Basak spends around 10 hours at the shop, focusing on her studies for the rest of the day. She has employed two friends, who were looking for employment, to run the business in her absence. Basak earns Rs 4,000 a month, paying salaries and helping her father, a rickshaw driver, support the family. Her first income got the family a treat-their favourite chowmein and roshogolla!