September 01, 2025

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THE MICROMOGULS

When India celebrated its 78th anniversary of Independence this August 15, the country stood on the cusp of a transformative economic decade. One that will be shaped not just by sprawling industrial conglomerates or billion-dollar unicorns, but by the quiet and consistent rise of India's unsung entrepreneurs who work on looms, toil in two-room factories, commute mostly on two-wheelers and come home to load-shedding. They convert local problems and needs into entrepreneurial opportunities and create millions of jobs while sustaining India's social and economic fabric. In size, these micromoguls may be modest, but their impact on the economy is colossal and their life stories are truly inspiring. Take Rupankar Bhattacharjee, who was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug in the most unusual of circumstances. A wildlife enthusiast, he was on a quest to track an elusive python when it disappeared into the dense thicket of water hyacinth that carpeted Assam's Deepor Beel, a vast freshwater lake, near Guwahati. That moment turned his mind towards the invasive weed-- how much it had choked the state's wetlands, turning sprawling zones of aquatic biodiversity into watery graveyards. Rupankar got thinking about how to get rid of it and, along with his friend Aniket Dhar, researched and found that the hyacinth's high fibre content was perfect for paper productionThus was born Kumbhi Kagaz in 2022. After securing Rs 8.3 lakh from Waste Aid, a UK-based charity promoting waste management, the duo set up a factory on the outskirts of Guwahati. They developed a custom-designed machine to convert the hyacinth into paper. Soon, their catchment expanded to the wetlands of the Kaziranga National Park after a grant from Assam Startup, a central government initiative that encourages such ventures. Their turnover has begun to show a profit, and national recognition came recently when Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned their success in Mann Ki Baat, his monthly radio broadcastSome 2,300 km away in Aurang- abad, there is Sandeep Dabhade, who was initially keen on being a tabla player and was eking out a living by performing across Maharashtra. "There were days when getting even two meals was a luxury," he recalls. To make ends meet, he joined a packaging company, where he excelled as an allrounder, handling operations, marketing and accounts. That's when he decided to go solo, investing his savings and mortgaging his family gold to set up EcoPack in 2019 and begin trading in packaging materials. COVID laid low his business the very next year, but help came in the form of a working capital loan of Rs 11 lakh from a nonprofit trust. The post-pandemic phase saw his business boom, and a Hindustan Unilever supplier became a major client. With that success, he started a new venture--processing sugarcane into chemical-free jaggery on his farm. Now, he is encouraging other farmers to do so too, hoping to make his hometown Jalna an agri-processing hubMeanwhile, in the pristine forests of Jashpur in northern Chhattisgarh, an initiative by former district magistrate Ravi Mittal brought together a group of tribals to turn the abundant forest produce into a range of organic products. That initiative came to be called the Jai Jungle Farmer Producer Company, its mandate being to help women's self-help groups (SHG) brand and market their wares under the label Jashpure. Among the many products are those made out of the mahua tree, found in abundance in the region. Its many medicinal values are extracted without using chemicals, additives or adulterants. These include the nectar from the mahua flower, which serves as an alternative to honey. The company now has an annual turnover of Rs 60 lakh, putting money into women's hands and empowering them with a rare economic independenceWVITAL LIFELINE ith over 66 million micro units across the country, entrepreneurs operating on this scale straddle 99 per cent of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. MSMEs now employ 244 million people, or nearly 43 per cent of India's 565 million-strong

HE MOVED HIS CHEESE

From the sprawling urban landscape of Delhi, where corporate ambitions unfold in glass-walled highrises, Ajay Singh embarked on a road less travelled--one that would lead him from corporate professionalism to the earthy wisdom of running a goat farm with 300 goats. The son of a CRPF sub-inspector from Barsana village in Haryana's Charkhi Dadri, Ajay trained as an accountant and worked in banking. The property boom in 2011 led him to switch boats and open a real estate company and purchase 35 acres of farmland near Alwar, Rajasthan. The aim was to sell farm plots. In 2015, the Indian real estate marked nosedived. Ajay, who was living in the village to develop the plots, had invested his savings in land that now had no buyers. "There were times when I had no money to buy eggs and bread for my children," he reminiscesAs Ajay tried his hand at farming, the widespread goat-rearing in the Alwar region caught his attention. It stirred in him memories of village elder referring to goat milk as niroga--one that could rid you of all disease. There were those who vouched for its better digestibility over cow milk and being an alternative for lactose-intolerant persons. Ajay also heard of doctors recommending goat milk to dengue, chikungunya and typhoid patients for increased platelet count. He kept a goat for milk, as it was cheap to maintain and, unlike a cow or a buffalo, could be milked any time of the day. The germ of an idea was formed--to supply goat milk to customers in DelhiIn 2016, Ajay set up Courtyard Farms and through advertisements on Google and Justdial managed to track customers who were interested. He then started to source goat milk from farmers; within a year, he was selling 40 litres a day. In two years, his customer base grew to around 8,000. This pushed Ajay to move his operations from his LIG flat to a 700 square feet unit in Sant Nagar, Delhi, which he then expanded to a 2,000 sq. ft area. In spite of success, by 2018, Ajay had realised that those who sought goat milk did so as a health supplement. Ajay decided to add value by processing it into ghee and curd, which was received well. He was then drawn to the finest expression of goat milk--goat cheeseAjay turned to videos on YouTube and also reached out to cheese-makers in India and abroad to get tips. For quality and taste, he asked for feedback for his cheese batches from chefs and food consultants. Within a year, he launched his goat Feta and, soon after, Chevre. Both varieties--deliciously creamy, with a soft consistency--surprised aficionados as they did not use any preservative and earned his products preference over imported, preservative-laden versions. Soon, top restaurants like Indian Accent and Comorin became regular clientsYet, Ajay was not content, and his ceaseless experimenting led to more goat milk products. He started keeping his own herd of goats for steady supply of milk. In 2021, he launched his goat Kefir (a drink made from fermented milk), followed by his marinated Feta range. By 2023 end, Ajay's product range included goat milk-based condensed milk, Cajeta spreads and a range of Greek yoghurts. These are now produced in rigorous quality-controlled setups in a 6,000 sq. ft facility in the Okhla Industrial Area. The cream was rising to the top: Courtyard's FY24-25 turnover touched Rs 2.25 crore"Imported cheese varities comprise over 70 per cent of the approximately Rs 12 crore market of goat cheese in India," says Ajay. "In three years' time, my aim is to make a big dent in these imports," he adds, as he spreads some Chevre on a roti made on a chulha.