Srikanth Bolla

Srikanth Bolla is an Indian industrialist and the founder of Bollant Industries. He is the first international blind student in Management Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1]

Srikanth Bolla
Born7 July 1991
Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationEntrepreneur
Spouse
Veera Swathi
​
(m. 2022)​

Early life and education

Bolla was born visually impaired at childbirth in Seetharamapuram of Machilipatnam, a city in Andhra Pradesh in 1991. His family was mainly dependent on farming[2] After his matriculation, he pursued science in his 12, but was not permitted to do so. Bolla filed a case, and after a six-month wait, he was allowed to pursue science at his own risk. Bolla topped his class with a 98% on his XII board exams.[3] Bolla was denied admission to coaching institutes for Indian Institute of Technology, where he wanted to study engineering, because he is blind.[4] He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was the first international blind student.[5][6] He was given corporate opportunities in America, but he was looking for some innovative idea in India.

He was a youth leader since 2005 and went on to become a member of Lead India 2020: The Second National Youth Movement.[7]  Started by former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Lead India 2020[8] is helping India reach the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020 by eradicating poverty, illiteracy and unemployment.[8]

Career

Bolla co-founded Samanvai Center for Children with Multiple Disabilities in 2011 in which he started a Braille printing press,[9] providing educational, vocational, financial, rehabilitation services to students with multiple disabilities for an economically independent and self-sustainable life.[10]

In 2012, Bolla started Bollant Industries, which manufactures areca-based products and provides employment to several hundred people with disabilities, with funding from Ratan Tata.[2] Addressing a combination of issues – employment, economic and environment – Bollant produces eco-friendly recycled Kraft paper from municipal waste or soiled paper, packaging products from recycled paper, disposable products from natural leaf and recycled paper and recycles waste plastic in to usable products.[11] Bollant has shown exceptional growth averaging 20% a month since inception and a turnover of ₹ 150 cr in 2018.[12]

Srikanth is the director of Surge Impact Foundation, founded in September 2016.[13] The organisation aims to enable individuals & institutions in India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.[14]

In April 2017, Bolla was named by Forbes magazine in its list of 30 under 30 across all of Asia, one of only three Indians in that list.[15]

Achievements
  1. Distinguished Youth Service Award
  2. Youth Excellence Award by the Telugu Fine Arts Society of New Jersey[16]
  3. Entrepreneur of the Year at NDTV Indian of the Year Award 2015[17]
  4. Emerging Winner in SME - Pride of Telegana Awards 2018[18]
  5. Business Line Young Change Maker Award 2018[19]
  6. Emerging Leadership Award by ECLIF Malaysia - 2016[20]
  7. Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by CII - 2016[20]
  8. 2nd Place at the 93rd India Science Congress[21]
  9. Entrepreneur of the Year by One Young World - 2019[22]
  10. Nava Nakshatra Sanmanam Award by TV9 - 2019
  11. Young Global Leaders 2021

In 2022, a biopic Sri featuring Rajkummar Rao in the role of Srikanth Bolla was announced. [23]

References
  1. "Srikanth Bolla '13 proves that anyone can learn how to swim". MIT News.
  2. Kumar, V Rishi (15 February 2016). "Bollant Industries now gets Ratan Tata's backing". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  3. "The blind CEO who built a 50 crore company". Rediff.com. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. "Blind student Srikant Bolla, rejected by IIT, gets admission to MIT Sloan School & is now an entrepreneur!". India.com. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  5. "Inspired to help others". MIT News. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  6. "Living His Dream". MIT Spectrum. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  7. "After Being Rejected By IIT, This Blind Man Went On To Become The CEO Of A Company Worth Crores". www.mensxp.com. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  8. "Lead India". leadindia2020.org. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  9. Kumar, V. Rishi (16 March 2018). "A catalyst for change". @businessline. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  10. "World was blind to see tech entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla's vision, but he had other ideas". dna. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  11. "Refused by IIT, This Blind Man Went on to Become an MIT Grad and CEO of a Rs 50 Crore Company". The Better India. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  12. "He winked at the world when it failed to see his vision - Times of India". The Times of India. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  13. "Surge Impact I About us". Surge Impact. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  14. "Surge Impact - Accelerating social impact in India". Surge Impact. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  15. "Srikanth Bolla". Forbes. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. "Srikanth Bolla". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  17. "NDTV confers Indian of the Year Award 2015". Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  18. "Winners". prideoftelangana.com. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  19. "BL Changemaker Award Winners". @businessline. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  20. Kumar, V. Rishi (16 March 2018). "A catalyst for change". @businessline. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  21. "How a blind man from India got into MIT and launched a US$16 million start-up". AsiaOne. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  22. "One Young World Announces 2019 Winners of Entrepreneur of the Year Award". One Young World. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  23. "Production begins for Rajkummar Rao's next film 'Sri', a biopic on Srikanth Bolla". The Economic Times. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
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