Brigadier (Retd) P Ganesham is a man on a mission. He travels to remote parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to discover new innovations. The mentor conducts ‘Shodha Yatras’ to identify rural talent through his organisation Palle Srujana, which he started in November 2005 after retiring from the Indian Army. His aim was to identify, reach out and help innovators scale up their creations.
Over the past 18 years, the retired Army man has identified and helped over 200 rural innovators, including Padma Shri awardee Chintakindi Mallesham. Mallesham created the Laxmi ASU machine to reduce the time and labour required to weave Pochampalli silk sarees.
It was during his service in the Indian Army that the armoured fighting vehicle specialist first encountered the acumen of grassroot innovators in soldiers.
Out of the 200 innovations that he has identified so far, 26 are ready for sale, 24 have patents, 13 have bagged President awards, and 2 received Padma Shri awards. The prototypes of all these innovations are displayed in the Brigadier’s home in Vayupuri, Secunderabad.
“We helped the innovators shine in national exhibitions and competitions, and even get loans for manufacturing or scaling up. Till date, we have been able to generate almost four crore financial assistance for them,” he adds.
Here’s how Brigadier Ganesham has helped bring hundreds of remarkable innovations to light:
Edited by Padmashree Pande
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