I started a company that installs "mini power plants" in off-grid villages of Bihar, India. I was instrumental in creating a process that can convert rice-husk to electricity using gasification and another proprietary technology. The key here is the system I was able to create to provide uninterrupted electricity at peak hours (night time) to people that replaced kerosene lanterns and diesel generators and ended up saving each household an average of $2-3/month. I think I have given poor people in rural India a tool that they can use to save cash, generate cash by running small businesses, help children study late in the evening and gives ample time to women for entertainment (besides daily chores)through access to television.
Additionally, I have de-skilled the process of operating the plants so much that we can hire local people (with minimal education) and train them to be able to run the power plant. It is our policy to recruit only local people (3 people per plant)to alleviate poverty and empower people in rural India.
Last but not the least, I also send over 200 children to private schools by diverting profit generated from two power plants to pay tuition fee.
I was born in West Champaran, India and initially used to hate the place because of poverty and lack of basic amenities, including electricity. I was privileged at the time since my parents could send me to best schools. I came to the U.S. and finished MS in Electrical Engg. After working a while, I thought about giving back to the place where I grew up. My journey of experimenting ways to give back started in early 2007 and I cannot stop liking this place (West Champaran) after I lighted over 30 villages in the last 2 years. I feel immensely attached to these villages and nothing makes me feel more elated than seeing electricity changing people's lives every day.
I want people to be empowered. I dont believe in the philosophy of donating money/services to uplift people from poverty. I truly believe in the fact that I should provide them with some tools, awareness and some training that will enable them to get motivated, build morale and eventually they will themselves come out the inertia and will be empowered to succeed in today's world.
After completing my MS from RPI, U.S. in Electrical Engineering, I worked with International Rectifiers as a Product Lead. I really learned a lot and enjoyed increasing the product yield by over 20-25% in a year.
I then came back to India to explore ways to give back to people and founded a company called Husk Power Systems. I created the power plant system and worked with a friend of mine to discover de-centralized way of providing power. Since, then I am running the company as a CEO and have installed 30 mini power plants that electrifies 90 off-grid villages. I aspire to install 2,000 plants by the end of 2014 and solve electricity problems of at least 6,000 villages impacting over 20 million people.
