He was also instrumental in pushing low-cost mobile devices across rural India; making Nokia a dominant brand in India. During this time, Shivakumar was working with leaders like KV Kamath (former chief of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries) and V Balaraman (ex-CEO, Ponds) who were part of the Nokia Advisory Board. With regards to Shivakumar’s success in driving Nokia’s rural market penetration, V Balaraman had this to say: