Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveA ‘doodh’ entrepreneur: How Shraddha Dhawan grew her farm revenue 24 times

A ‘doodh’ entrepreneur: How Shraddha Dhawan grew her farm revenue 24 times

Written by: Amrita Priya

(March 20, 2022) Trailblazing into the male domain, milking buffaloes, and riding a bike to deliver milk, Shraddha Dhawan, a native of Nighoj village, near Pune, has established herself as a unique entrepreneur. The 23-year-old village entrepreneur had entered the family dairy business seven years ago as a teenager studying in class 11 when she saw her polio-afflicted father struggle to deliver milk. From a couple of buffaloes, the village entrepreneur’s relentless efforts burgeoned the small family business into a farm with over 80 buffaloes and a turnover that grew 24 times.

Village Entrepreneur | Shraddha Dhawan | Maharashtra Dairy Farmer

All set for future

The soon-to-be-married entrepreneur is now venturing into the bio-fertiliser business, CS Agro Organics, with plans to reach international markets. Juggling responsibilities with elan is her forte. When children of her age were busy with studies and play, she was working to make the family business grow. “I am confident that my new venture will reach the pinnacle,” she tells Global Indian.

Inspiring others, garnering support

When she initially started delivering milk door-to-door, Shraddha felt a bit awkward. But she soon began enjoying her work. Seeing her efforts, her parents, Satyavan and Janaki, and younger brother supported her and began helping her. Now, with the business having grown by leaps and bounds, Shraddha has employed a team of people. “With the increasing number of buffaloes, it was difficult to manage on our own and we started employing people to take care of day-to-day activities,” says the village entrepreneur, whose turnover has gone from Rs 25,000 to Rs 6 lakh per month in a span of seven years.

Village entrepreneur Shraddha Dhawan

Inspired by Shraddha, other girls in her village started driving a bike, but her entrepreneurial choice remains unique. “I was blessed. Instead of people looking down upon me for doing something that was outside a ladies’ purview, fellow villagers appreciated me for my work, calling me my father’s son. I am grateful to my father for believing in me and allowing me to do things which were not stereotypical and my mother for her constant support,” says the eldest of three siblings. While her brother, who is now in his teens, is ready to step into her shoes, her sister had not been very inclined towards dairy farming since the beginning.

The physics student is pursuing her M.Sc from a college which is 20 km away from her village. She loves trekking and finds solace in going to nearby places to recoup. The village entrepreneur is proud of her origins and says that her village has some fine trekking routes nearby. Her fiancé, Chaitanya, who is pursuing a Ph.D and researching the world of bacteria, is all set to join her new venture as a business partner. While Chaitanya will bring his in-depth knowledge to the table, Shraddha will put her entrepreneurial skills to the best use with their new venture.

Epitomising the Indian woman

With plans to create an impact with her bio-fertiliser venture, Shraddha is happy to start something afresh. “As far as my dairy business goes, I did not think about myself, the aim was to put my family of five in a comfortable position financially. I always looked at it as ours, not mine alone. The new venture is something that I would call my own. I am hoping to get good investors who would help me realise my dream of making rural farmers prosper in their lives,” says the village entrepreneur.

After her wedding, she would be relocating to Jategaon where her fiancé lives. With the experience of rising from almost nothing, she is all set to make Jategaon as popular as Nighoj through her work.

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VIKAS MAKWANA

October 12, 2023 12:19 pm

REQUEST TO PLEASE PROVIDE THE CONTACT DETAILS OF shraddha dhawan maharashtra AS I AM ASSOCIATED WITH RURAL DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Published on 20, Mar 2022

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Vihaan and Nav Agarwal: Teen eco-heroes helping Delhi manage its waste

(November 30, 2022) In 2017, two people were killed in East Delhi when a large mound of garbage in the Ghazipur landfill collapsed, sweeping people in the vicinity into a nearby canal. Spread over 70 acres, with a mountain of garbage higher than a 15-storey building, the lethal collapse was one more alarm bell in a city that was already choking. Watching the tragedy unfold on the news were Vihaan and Nav Agarwal, two siblings in Delhi. "The next day, the whole city was engulfed in a blanket of smoke. When we read about it in the newspaper, the connection between waste and air pollution became clearer," Vihaan said. Delhi generates 11,144 tonnes of trash per day and up to 250 tonnes of municipal solid waste is burned every day, releasing 2000kg of PM10 and 1,800 kg/day of PM 2.5. Over one-third of the air pollution in Delhi is caused by burning waste in landfills. Vihaan was 14 at the time and Nav only 11, but growing up in Delhi had already taken a toll on their health, especially as Vihaan was asthmatic. Their time outdoors was severely curtailed, for the most part, they weren't allowed to play outside. "We

[caption id="attachment_24853" align="aligncenter" width="383"] Nav and Vihaan Agarwal[/caption]

Leading the way by segregating at home

Taking inspiration from icons like British naturalist David Attenborough and the storied conservationist Jane Goodall, the brothers began separating their waste at home, setting aside the recyclables. "The thought process in our mind was like, our waste shouldn't go there, our waste shouldn't become fodder for this fire," Vihaan said. They collected such a mountain of trash that their grandfather told them sternly, and only half in jest, that one of them, either the boys or the trash, had to go. However, they realised that their segregated waste was being mixed again after it was collected. When they contacted recyclers, they were told that they had too small an amount to be picked up.

One Step Greener

The brothers rallied a team together through the neighbourhood WhatsApp group. In 2018, they founded One Step Greener, an organisation aimed at preventing pollution caused by waste.

It marked the start of the recycling initiative that would earn the boys one of the top awards for children - the 2021 KidsRights International Children's Peace Prize. As they received the prize from Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, they entered an elite club of young, global changemakers, including Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg. The Dutch prize includes an education grant and a cash award of 1,00,000 euros. "It's an old saying, but everyone's collective effort does actually make a difference," Vihan said afterwards.

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They started with 15 homes in 2018, and four years later, the organisation has grown to cover schools, offices and over 1,500 households across Delhi. They have plans to expand to Kolkata and thanks to the exposure the Global Indians received through the KidsRights award, there is a fair amount of international interest as well. The organisation also works to spread awareness about the importance of recycling.

Accolades galore

Vihaan and Nav Agarwal haven't seen their teenage years through yet but have a long list of accolades to their credit already. Vihaan is also the First Asian to win the Children's Climate Prize, 2019 in Sweden and is an Ashoka Youth Venturer. Fifteen-year-old Nav has shown a talent for oration, which he uses to inspire people to join his green movement. He won the Children's Climate Prize along with his brother, was a jury member of Times of India's Young Change Leaders Contest, was named BBC's Earth Champion, is the winner of the Global Social Leaders Award and the Action for Nature Eco Hero Award.

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A music prodigy, Neil Nayyar created history by playing US national anthem on sitar

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Boy wonder

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[caption id="attachment_17749" align="aligncenter" width="551"] Neil with Consulate General of India (San Francisco) Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad[/caption]

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A passionate artist

After realising that music gives meaning to his life, Neil started dedicating more time to his instruments - rehearsing for about eight to nine hours every day. A symbol of uncompromising passion and persistence, Neil has not only performed at various prestigious stages in US, but has also won several awards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czwPyrMPpH8

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[caption id="attachment_17754" align="aligncenter" width="611"] Neil with Ustad Zakir Hussain[/caption]

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More than just a musician

[caption id="attachment_17755" align="aligncenter" width="462"] Neil also has a black belt in Kung fu[/caption]

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With three books and five honours, nine-year-old Abhijita Gupta is one of the youngest authors of India

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riting when I was just five. An Elephant's Advice, the first story I ever wrote, was about raising awareness to eat healthy food. My family appreciated it a lot." Encouraged by appreciation, she went on to write more such stories which later got compiled into her first book.

From “no” to “yes”

"Several publishers turned my manuscript down after learning about my age, questioning how a seven-year-old could write a book. Invincible Publishers finally agreed. They were reluctant too in the beginning but when my mother persuaded them to read the manuscript once, they said, 'Wow!" reminisces the youngster with a smile.

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The publishing house claims on the book's cover that "the writings have been left untouched so that the innocence does not get diluted" and adds that the title, cover design, and illustration ideas were all contributed by the young author.

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Three books and five honours

Abhijita is the great grand-daughter of acclaimed poets, Rashtrakavi Shri Maithili Sharan Gupt and Santkavi Shri Siyaramsharan Gupt. The youngster who showed interest in the craft on her own instead of being pushed into writing, seems to beautifully carry the legacy forward.

After her debut novel was published in 2019, Abhijita was recognised by the International Book of Records as the youngest author as well as the youngest author to write both prose and poetry at the age of seven. She also received the honour of Grandmaster in writing by Asia Book of Records.

[caption id="attachment_20064" align="aligncenter" width="772"] Abhijita with recognitions she received for her first book as a seven year old[/caption]

For her second book, she was recognised as the youngest author to create a non-fiction book on the Covid 19 pandemic, by both India Book of Records and the World Book of Records UK.

More books in future

“I am going to write many books in the future. When something is your hobby, you cannot stop doing it. So, I would carry on even when I become a doctor and have less time,” says the Ruskin Bond fan who aspires to be a good human being first and then a doctor.

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The little author is so drawn to her craft that if she has the urge to write, she can find the focus anywhere. She maintains two diaries, one in which she writes poems whenever an idea comes to her mind and one in which she writes stories. “Poetry has some restrictions like choosing a rhyming word. I am not able to express my feelings wholeheartedly. There is something still left, I feel and that is why I love writing stories more,” says Abhijita, who received the Global Prodigy Award 2021 along with 99 kids from across the world in Dubai.

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Sravan Kodali: Cameron Impact Scholar empowering students through educational programs

(August 27, 2024) It was in the fall of 2023 that Sravan Krishna Kodali found himself walking through the gates of Stanford University, where he enrolled himself in a bachelor's degree. But with a Cameron Impact Scholar under his belt which was given to the 18-year-old teen from New York by the Bryan Cameron Foundation for his dedication to community service and exceptional academic achievements. "I am extremely honoured to be a Cameron Impact Scholar, but I owe all to people who have supported me throughout high school," he had said. Promoting educational equity Born into a family hailing from Enikepadu in Vijayawada, his father is a businessman, and his mom is an anesthesiologist. Sravan was studying at the Christian Brother Academy in Syracuse when he found a way to make the most of his time during the Covid-19 lockdown. With the world locked in their homes, the Indian-American teen saw most of his peers engaging in unproductive activities which made him think of a solution. He started Empower CNY to offer online tutoring classes in Science and Math for lower-grade students. [caption id="attachment_38969" align="aligncenter" width="381"] Sravan Kodali[/caption] Empower CNY was created to promote educational equity in Central New York,

mage-38969" src="https://www.globalindian.com/youth/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sravan1.jpg" alt="Sravan Kodali | Global Indian" width="381" height="467" /> Sravan Kodali[/caption]

Empower CNY was created to promote educational equity in Central New York, addressing the issue of young students falling behind due to unequal resource distribution in our education system. To address this challenge, Empower CNY connects local students with high school volunteers. Tutors not only contribute to the community's development but also gain the chance to enhance their interpersonal and leadership skills. With diverse student leadership, Empower CNY creates activities and programs tailored to the needs of all ambitious students. "At Empower CNY, our goal is to equip every student with the resources needed to achieve their full academic potential," said Sravan.

The way this program works is that high school tutors from across Central New York register through their website and undergo an initial interview process. After the interview, tutors are paired with a student in need of tutoring. We hold weekly sessions on Saturday and Sunday, offering both morning and evening times. Parents and tutors can provide feedback through our optional session review forms. "We are currently operating at eight centers and providing virtual tutoring through video conferencing services to 50+ families," states their website.

[caption id="attachment_38970" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Empower CNY[/caption]

What began as a small online initiative quickly expanded into a program that now supports nearly 200 students from local schools through both in-person and virtual tutoring. In a short span, they have created an impact. "Through partnerships with key community organizations, our volunteers connect with students in need, identify local problems in education, and help address them with activism, lobbying, and organising. Primarily, we coordinate free, weekly student-support locations in immigrant and refugee hubs and provide volunteer-run workshops at resettlement agencies." So far, their team has collaborated with 12 partners across 4 cities. From refugee foundations to STEAM educational groups, these organizations have contributed to their impactful efforts.

Creating an impact

In 2022, as school shootings surged across the USA, Sravan demonstrated his dedication to tackling pressing societal challenges beyond his academic achievements. On May 26, 2022, he led a protest, supported by a local Senator, to advocate for stricter gun laws and raise awareness about the critical need for reform in response to the escalating gun violence.

His achievements, including his work as a genetic researcher and his co-founding of the youth educational organisation Empower CNY, were particularly notable to the Selection Committee, which reviewed 3,000 applications. This earned him the prestigious ‘Cameron Impact Scholar’ award in 2023 from the Bryan Cameron Foundation, earning a full scholarship for his college education. This honour, awarded to only 15 students nationwide, highlights Sravan’s remarkable community impact, exceptional self-motivation, and outstanding academic achievements.

He is the first student He is the first student from his school in the past 60 years to gain admission into Stanford University. Apart from being a top-performing student, Sravan is a skilled soccer player who actively contributes to societal improvement. In addition, Kodali has gained valuable experience through internships at SUNY Upstate Medical University, UMass Medical School, and Syracuse University, where he worked on various research projects. He also interned with the Village of Canastota, focusing on grant writing. Beyond these roles, Kodali serves as a Youth Policy Consultant with the American Youth Policy Forum, contributes to congressional campaigns, and works as an Immigration Team Intern for the Volunteer Lawyers Project of CNY.

His journey from launching Empower CNY during the pandemic to becoming a Cameron Impact Scholar underscores his dedication to academic excellence and community service. Sravan's story highlights his perseverance, creativity, and significant impact, making him an inspiring role model for future generations.

Follow Sravan Kodali on LinkedIn

Entrepreneur Alishba Imran is engineering a better tomorrow for all

(May 7, 2024) Growing up in Toronto, Alishba Imran carved a space for herself in the world of machine learning, robotics, and blockchain at the very young age of 18. About four years back, Alishba, who had zero knowledge about programming or coding back then, enrolled herself to join her school’s robotics team. While she faced several issues, her focus on learning, earned her the position of the lead programmer on the team. And there has been no turning back since then. A few years after this incident, while on a service trip in India, the entrepreneur learned about the lack of medication in various rural parts of the country. To come up with a solution for this, Alishba taught herself blockchain coding and launched Honestblocks, a platform that tracks counterfeit medicine in the supply chain. Her codebase for the initiative has since been integrated into IBM and used globally. She then co-founded Voltx to accelerate the development of renewable energy storage devices using machine learning and physics models to accelerate the lab to commercialisation process for electrochemical devices. “The biggest thing you can optimise for in life is people. Spend time exploring your interests, what you’re good at, and

2024/05/ALishba_BAIR.jpg" alt="Entrepreneur | Alishba Imran | Global Indian" width="552" height="368" />

“The biggest thing you can optimise for in life is people. Spend time exploring your interests, what you’re good at, and what brings you energy. I think the best things to work on are at the intersection of what you're good at, what you enjoy, and are a way for you to create value for the world," explained the Global Indian, who was recently named among Teen Vogue’s annual 21 Under 21 list of “changemakers, influencers, activists, and artists who have made a substantial impact in both their communities and the world.”

Making a difference

Born in a desi family, Alishba has always been connected to her roots. A brilliant student, the entrepreneur launched an app that uses blockchain to improve supply chain transparency to end counterfeit medication in developing countries when she was just 14. "As a child, I was always very curious and asked a lot of questions about how things work. From appliances around the house to vehicles and computers. At a young age, I found engineering and computer science very interesting because of how it technically challenged me and the vast applications to solve tangible problems," the entrepreneur shared, "In middle school, I learned how to code and was one of the first girls to join the robotics team. That was really my first glimpse into learning about building something real. I was really excited because I would travel to global competitions to meet other people from different countries who were just as interested in technology and engineering as me."

There are a lot of people in the tech industry trying to build the next big social media or note-taking app that will attract millions of dollars from big investors and bolster their company’s value," said the entrepreneur, adding, "But I don’t think the end goal of any company should be based on its monetary value, but rather the value it brings to society."

Addressing several major issues plaguing third-world countries, Alishba believes in using her skills to make a difference in society. "There are many urgent problems that need to be addressed in the world. The greatest challenges of our time — climate change, health care reform and finding ways to create sustainable energy sources. As young students and innovators, I think we have to continually ask ourselves: How do we put our talents and passions toward working on these hard problems?," she said, "Finding the answer to that question, personally, has been a great motivation for me to dive deeper into my interests. And that has been a journey that has taken me around the world."

Creating a better world

When she was just 17, Alishba founded her first company, Voltx, before which she worked with Tesla on research that could speed up the time it takes to manufacture battery cells using machine learning and physics models. "I moved to San Francisco to work full-time with my co-founder to find ways to scale the storage of batteries for solar panels and other applications, like electric vehicles (EV). I raised a pre-seed round of over $1 million for Voltx through venture capital investors. I am still continuing to build on this technology and research as a second-year student at Berkeley," said the entrepreneur, who was also named among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, in 2023.

[caption id="attachment_37640" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognised Alishba for her work[/caption]

Speaking about her current projects, the entrepreneur said, "I’m currently co-authoring a textbook for O’Reilly Media, Machine Learning for Robotics with my colleague PG Keerthana Gopalakrishnan. Our aim is to make more accessible the processes of using deep language learning models to build robotics that can change the way we live."

Follow Alishba Imran on her website

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