September 12, 2023

Srikanth Bolla Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

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Hometown: Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh Wife: Veera Swathi Age: 32 Years

Some Lesser Known Facts About Srikanth Bolla

• Srikanth Bolla is an Indian businessman who is known for being the Chairman and CEO at Bollant Industries. He was born blind but even after the disability, he set up a Rs. 1,200 crore company that offers jobs to other people born with disability.

• He was born visually impaired at the time of his birth. When he was born, many people in his neighbourhood told his parents to kill Srikanth, but his parents never listened to them and gave him all the facilities he needed with the small income they earned from farming.

• When he was six years old, he used to walk several kilometres to school guided by his brother and classmates.

• He faced many problems while growing up. His classmates used to avoid talking to him because he was blind. In an interview, he said that for two years, nobody acknowledged him in school, and he was made to sit on the last bench. During the PT period, he was not allowed to play.

• When he turned eight, he took admission to a boarding school in Hyderabad. There, he learned how to swim, play chess, and play cricket using a ball that made noise so he could find it easily.

• He wanted to pursue science after completing matriculation but was not allowed to do so. Many schools believed it was against the law for him to study maths and science in high school because he was blind. They thought that it would be difficult for them to teach him graphs and diagrams. He was very upset about the law and with the help of one of his teachers, he filed a case in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh to make some reforms. After waiting for six months, he won the lawsuit and was allowed to pursue science at his own risk in one of the schools.

• In class 12, he topped his class with a 98%. He got all the textbooks converted to audiobooks, worked day and night to study and managed to secure 98 per cent in the twelfth board exams.

• Thereafter, he learned Braille, then English, and then how to use a computer.

• After completing his formal education, he wanted to join a coaching institute for the Indian Institute of Technology to study engineering, but he was denied admission because of his disability.

• In 2005, he was a youth leader and also became a part of Lead India 2020: The Second National Youth Movement. Lead India 2020 was started by former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and it has helped India develop by removing poverty, illiteracy and unemployment.

• In 2006, he was among students who were addressed by India’s former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam during a speech.
  Srikanth Bolla with former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

• He joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and became the first international blind student in Management Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

• In an interview, he said that when he was in the States, he only ate french fries and fried chicken fingers for a month.

• In 2011, while he was studying at MIT, he shared his idea of creating a centre with staff at MIT’s Public Service Center. They provided Bolla with a fellowship. He created a curriculum, bought five computers, rented a building, hired a faculty member, and began 10-week computer classes.

• While he was studying in America, he received many corporate opportunities, but he wanted to work in India.

• In 2011, Bolla co-founded the Samanvai Center for Children with Multiple Disabilities. At this centre, he began a Braille printing press and offered various services like education, job training, financial support, and rehabilitation to students with multiple disabilities. The goal was to help them become economically independent and lead self-sufficient lives.

• In 2012, after returning to India from the US, he began Bollant Industries, a company that makes things from areca nuts and gives jobs to many people with disabilities. Ratan Tata helped with the money to start it. Some of the other supporters include Ravi Mantha, who was part of The Indus Entrepreneurs; SP Reddy, a serial entrepreneur; Srini Raju of Peepul Capital; Satish Reddy of Dr Reddy’s; Kiran Grandhi of GMR Group; and Arun Alagappan of TI Cycles. He started the company because he realized that not many people could fight the battles that he fought in his life. There are more than 600 people working for the company and half of them are visually impaired.

• 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 into usable products. This has helped in resolving employment, economic and environmental issues. The company has five plants in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. It exports 10-15 per cent of its produce to the US, Australia and Germany.

• Srikanth serves as the director of Surge Impact Foundation, founded in September 2016. The organisation aims to guide institutes and people in India to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

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

• In 2019, it was reported that he would join the YSR Congress, the main Opposition in Andhra Pradesh.

• In 2022, a biopic titled ‘Sri’ featuring Rajkummar Rao in the role of Srikanth Bolla was announced.

• In an interview, he said that he wanted to become the President of India.

• His favourite actor is Daggubati Venkatesh.
  Srikanth Bolla with Daggubati Venkatesh

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