If you are regular listeners of Radio Mirchi, we’re excited to share with you a delightful piece of news. Our founder Umang Doctor is being interviewed by Radio Mirchi about his work that involves uncovering potential that everyone else has ignored!

At Xcelevate Skills Foundation, we work with young people from underprivileged backgrounds, many of them children of drivers, domestic workers, and daily wage earners who often don’t have access to traditional education pathways. When you talk to them, you’ll realize they are just as sharp as anyone else. But circumstances have limited their progress.

And Umang wanted to change that.

He conceived this intensive, hands-on learning environment, where apprentices spend about a year learning real coding skills, problem solving, and professional discipline.

And the outcome is powerful: most of them are getting hired as software developers and coders with starting salaries around ₹50,000 per month.

What makes this even more remarkable is that these objectives are being achieved in a year, something many engineering graduates struggle to achieve even after a four-year degree.

During this inspiring conversation at Mirchi, the team asked Umang some thought-provoking questions about talent, opportunity, education, and the future of India’s tech workforce.

A few questions that sparked powerful discussions:

• In a city like Bengaluru where engineering degrees are so common, is the tech industry slowly moving toward valuing skills over formal degrees?

• Many people believe coding requires an engineering degree. How do you prove that talent can exist outside traditional education pathways?

• When a young person from a low-income family suddenly starts earning a tech salary, how does that change not just their life but their family’s outlook on education and work?

• What role can the tech industry in Bengaluru play in improving social mobility in India?

So,If someone asked you these questions, what would your answers be?

Share your thoughts in the comments, we would love to hear your perspective.

And if you are curious to hear Umang’s answers, stay tuned for the Radio Mirchi episode when it goes on air. We will share the broadcast details soon.

Like someone who was in the middle of the ocean once said – water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. The same applies to talent. It’s everywhere. But for it to be made fruitful, we need people like Umang and organizations like Xcelevate Skills Foundation.

And it’s only after that, when opportunity meets this talent, that lives can change.