How Kolkata-based Padrea Global turned socially responsible during the pandemic

In an effort to provide relief to the poor amid the pandemic, management consulting company Padrea Global Services started a food drive by the name of Roti Bank, touching the lives of over 15,000 people. The company’s family trust, Rukmini Devi Shivchandran Foundation, mainly deals with the three main objectives, listing:

• Grocery Donation
• Food Drive by the name of Roti Bank
• Women Development/ Upliftment

Here, Baibhav added that “From a very long time now the trust has been engaged with such activities and that have inculcated in our upbringing, Thus, we also feel that a part of your earning should be contributed towards the society. So, during the pandemic, we have seen people unable to go outside, besides old people left at the disposal of their house helps couldn’t acquire that service, people living alone were down with Covid, and were badly craving for home food. Thus, we felt the need to start this Food Drive, post which we also adopted Few NGOs and underprivileged people.”

Noble ideas and ventures always get their due recognition, and this food drive was also no different. “When we started this food drive, little did we know that we would be able to cater to almost 250 people every day with Hot Meals, touching down the lives of more than 15,000 people so far. The home-cooked food made all the difference. Besides, special care was being taken while the food was prepared concerning hygiene, taste, and proper packaging. Considering all the three factors, the food became appealing to people, and when they couldn’t reach us, we tried to give doorstep service. Also, we made sure that only environmentally-friendly disposables were used for packaging”, added Baibhav.

Thus, Roti Bank made sure that every person in Kolkata can afford a decent hot meal. With that, Baibhav also made sure that the ones who couldn't step out or were down with Covid would have a steady supply of groceries like Rice, Wheat, Soya bean, Chana, Salt, Sugar, Oil, etc. “This has been going on for more than three years, with the organisation sincerely running from end-to-end serving the food. We have catered to orphanages that are under-privileged. The smiling faces of the children made us feel that we are serving the right ones,” said Baibhav.

Here, Baibhav remembers a particular story about one of his clients who stays in Dubai, and she was fascinated when she heard about these services, as her parents were in Kolkata. “They reached out to us in the wee hours, and despite that, me, along with my wife, personally went to serve food, and it was overwhelming for us to do so. There are several old-age couples in India with their children abroad. They try to get in touch with us, while we serve food and groceries to their parents in India.”

Baibhav believes that life starts at the end of your comfort zone. Thus, they have moved out of boundaries, and have also started to spread their wings in Jaipur, thereby planning to tie-up with “Akshaya Patra” and several other organisations to take it PAN India. “I believe that it is not about ideas, rather making ideas happen,” he adds.

Now, the last leg of the organisation dealing with women development includes distribution of sanitary pads, vocational training, and self-defense, having touched more than 1,000 women.

“By God’s grace, we did not get any roadblock because we were not dealing with any organisation, rather dealing directly with the people without charging a penny. So, the question of them retaliating back to us was less,” says Baibhav.

However, life treats you with individuals of various kinds. So, here Baibhav remembers this lady who lashed out at them with the complaint of stale food, as the delivery was late. “We were supplying food to her for the last eight days, and she complimented us every single day. Suddenly, one fine day she said that food was bad, stale and she blocked all the numbers.”

This was the only roadblock they have faced to date. “We were just meeting people and spreading ourselves through social media without any agenda in our mind,” he adds.

The beginning

Back in 2007, Kolkata-based Padrea Global Services Limited began as an IT company that only dealt with specific IT solutions. Today, the consultancy firm deals in finance, assurance, advisory, software solutions and legal services.

Baibhav Agrawal, Director, Padrea added “That "more" is providing the best of customer service, customer experience, and company culture. We aim to inspire the world by showing it's possible to simultaneously deliver happiness to customers, employees, vendors, shareholders, and the community in a long-term, sustainable way.”

Thus, formulating and executing outstanding solutions for both the finance and digital world, Padrea Global Services Limited spreads to more than fifteen sectors and has successfully expanded its territorial domains to overseas countries like Singapore, Dubai, England, catering to countless, reputed clients.

“With an experience of more than ten years as the Director of Padrea Global Services Ltd, my core belief lies in the fact that it is simply hard work that makes you follow your passion till it is achieved. Also, my passion and dreams towards being a successful entrepreneur ropes in coining the name Padrea, (Pa=passion, and drea=dreams),” says Baibhav.

Thus, to sum it up, Padrea provides a holistic service, ensuring all solutions under one roof, including finance, assurance, advisory, software solutions, legal services. “Right now we have five verticals of services and a separate dedicated team of professionals who are working round the clock to serve our clients. Besides, we have a very old legacy of a CA firm which is forty-five years old, so this is a natural diversification for us. We are known for inoculating technology while continuously evolving ourselves to provide fast solutions to our clients,” added Baibhav.

Vision and thoughts

For the years to arrive, Baibhav hopes to continue with the endeavors of serving people and the society at large, while stressing their social responsibilities.

“I think I can evaluate myself as an experienced personnel who has envisioned a dream of being a successful entrepreneur. I believe that there can be only a single mantra for living your dreams and that is constant dedication and honesty,” conjectures Baibhav.