"Like most other fields, education cannot be left to the government alone," said an open letter addressed to industrialists and businessmen of Mumbai signed by the quartet. And hence the corporate initiative to make Mumbai the first south Asian city to achieve the feat within the internationally agreed deadline of year 2000.

In this initiative, these four are not alone. They have been supported by a host of other corporates and players in the financial sector like British Airways, Vinmar Industries, BSES Ltd, PiramalEnterprises, Industrial Development Bank of India, DCW Home Products, HPCL, Booz Allen & Hamilton and HSBC Securities India Holdings. All of them have joined hands to support Pratham, possibly the first corporate initiative to fight illiteracy among slum children.

Pratham was initiated by Unicef in 1993-94 and ICICI stepped into the scene in 1997 with others supporting it. "So long it has been depending on the triangular partnership of corporate support, coordination with the government and voluntary workers. Now the time has come to go `retail' -- shifting the responsibility from corporates to individuals," said Vaghul.

In 1998-99, Pratham provided preschool education to over 50,000 slum children through 2,800 balwadis. The target for the current financial year has been kept at making 70,000 children literate by running 4,000 balwadies.

The Prathan balwadi model costs Rs 6,000 per year.

"It's simple arithmetic. We want to run 4,000 balwadies at a cost of Rs 6,000. All we need is Rs 60,000 worth ofannual commitment from 400 individuals in this big city of millions. I have already committed my share," said Vaghul.

The ICICI chairman along with Tata, Ganguly and Mahindra are meeting on May 28 in Mumbai to share the Pratham experience of corporate donors and young executives.

Over the last four years, Pratham has set up more than 2,300 balwadis in mandals, mandirs and even on pavements. Over 50,000 children attend these classes run by young teachers from the local community. The real strength of Pratham is a 5,000-strong team of activists, mostly young women, spread across Mumbai to ensure every child is covered. With corporate India joining hands, the dream is destined to become a reality.