Sujeet Kumar (politician)

Sujeet Kumar spearheaded the Special Development Council Cup (SDC Cup 2020) to bring together indigenous youth of Odisha to play competitive football at the district and state levels. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia attended the final match of the tournament, played at the historic Barabati Stadium. This unique football championship, organised with technical assistance and support of Football Association of Odisha (FAO) and recognised by All India Football Federation (AIFF), involved over 10,000 tribal youth in men and women categories, in the nine tribal districts of Odisha.

A monumental feat by Sujeet Kumar, and his team, was to organise the stupendously successful Kalahandi Dialogue (http://www.kalahandidialogue.org/) at Kalahandi, in Sept 2018. It was designed as a collaborative platform for engaging all the stakeholders (global leaders, policymakers, development practitioners, entrepreneurs & social entrepreneurs, elected representatives, public intellectuals and the local citizens of Kalahandi) in the development discourse and action.

To discuss and understand multiple perspectives of development, it is imperative to take the pain to travel to places, where the realities of development are actually lived; and not do so from a distant perch. Kalahandi Dialogue aimed to decentralise the development discourse, and take the discussions around development, beyond the capital cities to the hinterland.

There could have been no better place than Kalahandi to host a conclave dedicated to effecting positive societal changes and exploring sustainable transformational solutions to the world’s pressing challenges. Not long ago, Kalahandi epitomized under-development and had pricked the nation’s conscience for its crippling famines, abject poverty, malnutrition, hunger, and starvation. Today, Kalahandi is emerging as truly a remarkable development success story; owing to the right policies, proper implementation of development schemes, political will, and innovative grassroots solutions. Thus, Kalahandi- the name symbolizes hope and resilience. The Conclave intended to celebrate and showcase its remarkable development success story.

He led a legislative engagement and advocacy initiative at Kalinga Kusum, in partnership with UNICEF, to orient Odisha Legislative Assembly members (MLAs), in the areas of budgeting, child rights, and ease of doing business.

Sujeet Kumar has taken leadership in conceptualizing and driving an innovative idea-the Child-Friendly Constituency (CFC). He, in collaboration with Kalinga Kusum Foundation & UNICEF, has been pro-active in promoting the idea of child-friendly constituencies across the state. Assisted by the then local MLA, Mr. Anubhav Patnaik, the first-ever CFC project in India has been implemented in the Khandapada Assembly Constituency of Nayagarh district of Odisha, earning rare acclaim by UNICEF.

Kumar has been at the forefront in the state, helping foster entrepreneurial spirit amongst the youth, especially women, and encouraging them to pursue entrepreneurship. To promote a start-up culture and ecosystem in Odisha, he continues to engage, train and mentor students and entrepreneurs in the areas of Ideation, Business Strategy, Start-up Laws & Entrepreneurial Finance. He has invested in, and sits on the Board of, a host of start-ups having roots in Odisha; and has assisted over a dozen start-ups raise angel, seed and multi-series VC funding.