Caption: Founder of Marg Mart: Karan Singh; Co-founders: Vijay, Manish, Harsh
New Delhi [India], April 26: The test of fire makes fine steel and the pandemic has proven to be one of the toughest challenges this world has witnessed in recent times, resulting in devastating consequences on healthcare systems across the world, and India is no exception to this rule. The governments, both at the centre and state levels have been witnessing their capabilities being stretched to the limits and reach a breaking point. News of the scarcity of medicines or their unavailability in certain areas, rising death tolls and the ever-increasing rate of infections has been adding to the anxiety of the already suffering patients and their loved ones. At a time when the public sector is being overwhelmed with this global challenge, it is the moral responsibility of the private sector to step in and contribute.
As the nation grapples with a herculean task that its healthcare system has never faced before, conventional ideas and rigid thinking will bear no fruit. An infusion of innovation and fresh blood is required in the workforce ¾ minds which are unafraid of exploring hitherto unknown frontiers and not beholden to accepted ways of thinking.
Four young Australia returned students have shown the willingness to face this test with fortitude and resolved to pass it with flying colours. Character is not born but displayed in a crisis. This adage has been proven right by the restless energy that Karan Singh and his 3 friends have exuded to find a way to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic. As the government machinery was busy combating the coronavirus, with some assistance from the private sector, four young interns at Marg ERP Ltd. refused to be mere spectators and watch the unfolding of this disaster from the sidelines. They decided to apply their passion and perspective on the ongoing catastrophe and invent solutions that others missed as they lay in plain sight.
In his own words, Karan describes how he felt underutilized and under what circumstances the idea of Marg Mart struck his mind, “We had to come back from Australia after COVID19 struck and I joined our family business as an Intern. My daddy is very particular about learning the basics and soon I was attending calls of customers to help them run operations smoothly. I always felt incomplete because I was inexperienced but wanted to do something unique, something extraordinary. When the second wave of COVID19 struck we started getting calls from various corners about the availability of life-saving medicines. After a few calls, an idea struck my mind – to provide the availability of medicines in the form of a website to visitors. Something from where users may find various medicines. I discussed the idea with my friends and they were game for it. We gathered the courage to discuss the idea with parents as we had no idea how to proceed.”
Karan’s situation was like many other entrepreneurs who get ideas but don’t know what to do next. But, thankfully, he got early support. “We discussed the idea with my father and his first reaction was – heck, why didn’t we do this in the first COVID19 wave. To my surprise, he gave us a development team and somehow we launched the www.MargMart.com website in a matter of 3-4 days.” Marg Mart answers the most important question in the minds of patients & caretakers – where is the medicine available? Marg Martis a confident declaration from these young Turks about their ability to turn the tide of this calamity in favour of the people of this country. For these young minds, there couldn’t have been a superior form of nationalist expression than service to the nation through action and not empty criticism.
Marg Mart is an online platform that assists customers to locate the medical stores or distributors where the medicines they need are available. In one fell swoop, Marg Mart circumvents the need to physically visit the stores or go through the trouble of calling them to enquire about the availability of medicines and saves time which might be crucial for the survival of patients. Ask Karan about the future plans for Marg Mart and he says, “Our first objective is to save lives. The future plan is something that we will do after some success stories. We have more than 6 crores of line items about the availability of various goods but we will think about them later when the times are good.” Karan behind this initiative intends to create a bridge that connects medical retailers and distributors with customers who are in dire need of medical supply.
The user interface of www.MargMart.com is simple. All the user has to do is to enter the name of the medicine and the city or pin-code in which the user would like to locate the medicine. Results are listed by retailers and distributors. The results will provide users with all the information they need: the name of the store, the complete address, contact details, the pin-code of the area in which the store is located and even a direction link to reach the store using a map. Karan and his team have been working tirelessly to expand the database and improve the user interface to ensure that Marg Mart becomes a seamless experience for its users.
It is said that the young can see farther than others because they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them. In keeping alive the tradition of service through innovation that the founders of Marg ERP Ltd. have established, the young generation is following in their footsteps. Marg Mart is the product of the vision and ambition of the young entrepreneurial minds that are eager to put their ideas into reality and leave a mark. This ambition though is coupled with a deep sense of empathy and social awareness without which Marg Mart wouldn’t have been created. It is a non-profit initiative and one of its kind taken by any corporate entity in India so far. With the launch of Marg Mart, Karan and his team hope to alleviate, if not completely eradicate, the misery that has been unleashed on Indian masses over the last few months. Marg Mart is here to serve.
Divya Agarwal
