Adda247 can help you get a great government job. Here's how

India is on the brink of an employment crisis. A staggering 7.2 per cent of our working-age population is unemployed. There are two main reasons, apart from several others — one, there are simply not enough jobs and two, the job seekers are not skilled or equipped enough. That's where people like Anil Nagar step in and do their bit to make a difference. Anil's theory is that a lot of people from rural backgrounds have the necessary education to be employed, but due to lack of guidance and their background, they don't have the language skills or personality that most private jobs require. The solution? He suggests that it is a much better idea to turn to government jobs instead. Which is why he started Adda247, a platform that provides affordable training and guidance to people seeking government jobs. Excerpts:

You've worked in several leading private companies. What prompted you to quit and start Adda247?

I come from a village in UP, from a family of farmers. We had very limited opportunities and the only way to get out of it was through education. When I was in school, I realised that I wanted to get into the IITs to escape that lifestyle. I had the motivation, but there was no guidance. But eventually, I managed to get my BTech from an IIT. However, the thought remained in my mind that there are so many people like me, who are capable but don't know what to do or what to study just because of the lack of guidance in their life. After my BTech, I did a couple of corporate jobs with leading multinationals. My company was about to send me to the US for three years and that's when I took the call because I realised that I wanted to do something else, I wanted to help people like me find a good job. So, I quit my job and started Adda247. 

Why the focus on government jobs?

One of the problems we realised was that a lot of students are smart, they are able to complete their school exams without much guidance. But they are still unable to get good jobs in the private sector. The reason being, because of their background, their personality and their lack of English language skills, they are not suitable for private jobs which require these skills. I used to get a lot of queries from people in my village about how they can get good jobs. So, we thought that one of the ways is to try for a government job because the whole process is much simpler and easily accessible. We started this company in 2010 and the focus was to help people land good government jobs. We started physical classroom training for government jobs. I taught some of the classes and there were other IIT graduates who helped me.

Paying it forward: Anil grew up in a rural household without much guidance, which is why he decided to start Adda247 to help others

Tell us about the Adda247 app.

When we started the company, we wanted to reach out to last-mile students, but the purpose was not being served because not everyone could make it to these training centres, which were mostly in bigger cities. Secondly, the quality of education was not maintained because of the many centres. So, we thought that an online platform would be the best option. In 2016, we decided to develop an app. We changed our brand name because if we didn't, people might've still perceived us an offline platform. 

What are the features of the app and how many users do you have?

As of now, the Adda247 app has about 75 lakh users. We deliver complete education. We have on-demand video lessons. If you're trying for a banking job, you'll have pre-recorded video lessons. You'll have the option of having a live class teacher as well. We are also able to monitor how many people are attending our live classes and how engaged they are. We have mock tests that will show you where you lack and where you need to work hard. 

How do you stand out from the many learning apps out there?

One way is with respect to perception. We have been around for nine years and many of our students have landed good government jobs. Secondly, we are present on different platforms. We stay in touch with our student base through different means. Thirdly, because of the way we use technology. We truly understand what the users need.