The "Horizon 2005" blueprint was not just a plan on paper; it was a tremor that reshaped the Indian corporate landscape. The announcement of Patel Group's aggressive diversification into finance, media, and smartphones sent shockwaves through their respective industries. But for Harsh, now fully immersed in his role as a venture catalyst, the first true test was ensuring these new saplings took root.
His method was not micromanagement, but strategic ignition. He provided the initial spark—capital, a strategic mandate, and the protective shield of the Patel brand—and then stepped back to watch the fire spread.
Patel Digital & Mobility: The "Bharat Mobile" Gambit
Deepak faced his first major hurdle.The "Sanskrit-2" processor, while capable, was not power-efficient enough for a sleek smartphone. His engineers were pushing for a conservative, bulky design to accommodate a larger battery.
Harsh intervened only once. He connected Deepak's team with a small, innovative battery research startup in Pune that the Aethelred Ventures arm had identified. The startup had a prototype for a new, denser lithium-ion cell. Instead of acquiring the startup, Harsh brokered an exclusive licensing deal and a strategic investment. It was a faster, more agile solution than trying to build the capability in-house. The "Bharat Mobile" project was back on track, its design now sleeker and more competitive.
Patel Finance: The Data Dilemma
The newly appointed CEO of Patel Capital,Mr. Iyer, a former traditional banker, was struggling. His models for assessing credit risk were archaic. He needed the rich, transactional data from the Disha Alliance to make his loan decisions, but accessing it raised complex privacy and regulatory concerns.
Harsh summoned a meeting between Iyer and the head of the Disha Oversight Board. The solution was a piece of regulatory and technical genius, conceived by Harsh. They created a "Data Trust." Alliance companies could deposit anonymized, aggregated transaction data into the trust. Patel Capital's algorithms could then query the trust—"What is the default rate for small electronics retailers with a monthly turnover between X and Y?"—and get an answer without ever seeing the raw, individual data. It preserved privacy while unlocking immense value, creating a credit-scoring system far superior to anything else in India.
Patel Media: The Content Conundrum
The newly acquired movie studio,"Sunrise Pictures," was floundering. Its old-guard directors were making formulaic films that were failing at the box office. Sanjay, whose consumer instincts were sharp, was frustrated.
Harsh's solution was indirect but potent. He increased the budget for Patel Media with one condition: a significant portion was to be used to fund a new "Indie Studio" wing, dedicated to first-time directors and unconventional scripts. He wasn't betting on safe formulas; he was betting on new talent. One of the first greenlit projects was a small-budget film about a farmer using the "Krishi Mitra" device, a story that was both culturally resonant and a brilliant, subtle advertisement for the Patel ecosystem.
The sparks were catching. The new verticals were finding their footing, not through Harsh's direct command, but through his catalytic interventions—a strategic connection here, a novel governance solution there, a bold bet on talent elsewhere.
Meanwhile, in the rarefied environment of the Foresight Institute, Project Ushas reported a minor breakthrough: they had successfully maintained a two-qubit system in a state of quantum coherence for a full minute, a world-class achievement. And in a remote village in Odisha, the first prototype of a solar-powered, voice-activated "Aakash" device, asking a farmer in his native Oria about the weather, brought a smile to the man's weathered face.
Harsh received a consolidated report. The Patel Group, even with its massive diversification costs, was more profitable than ever, its core businesses thriving under the Disha-driven efficiency. The river of rupees was flowing stronger, funding both the ambitious new ventures and the transcendent moonshots.
The catalyst was working. The empire was not just expanding; it was evolving, becoming a self-correcting, self-innovating organism. Harsh's greatest achievement was no longer a company or a fortune, but this—a system that could grow and adapt, generating its own future long after the initial spark had faded.