Mr. Muruganantham has been accorded the recognition as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World 2014 for his accomplishments. He is in the company of the likes of Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Serena Williams, Ronaldo, Xi Jinping, Jeff Bezos, Malala, Shinzo Abe, Beyonce, Putin, Arundhati Roy, Hilary Clinton etc., to name a few of the 100.
One Indian social entrepreneur has given women from low income groups in India dignity, by making it possible for them to afford to buy sanitary towels and provide them with an income at the same time. Arunachalam Murugananthamis the person who changed things. From a poor background in the South of India, he created the world’s first low-cost machine to produce sanitary towels. According to a report by market research group AC Nielsen, “Sanitary Protection: Every Woman’s Health Right”, 88% of women in India are driven to use ashes, newspapers, sand husks and dried leaves during their periods. As a result of these unhygienic practices, more than 70% of women suffer from reproductive tract infections, increasing the risk of contracting associated cancers.
Muruganantham re-engineered a sanitary machine, and in 2006 it won the award for the best innovation for the betterment of society from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai. Plus, he also received an Indian presidential award for innovation. Currently more than 1300 machines made by his company, are installed across 27 states in India and seven other countries.. This social entrepreneur sells his low cost machines directly to rural women through the support of bank loans and not-for-profit organisations. A machine operator can learn the entire towel-making process in three hours and then employ three others to help with processing and distribution.
Muruganantham’s invention is widely praised as a key step in changing women’s lives in India.Muruganantham’s machine creates jobs and income for many women, and affordable pads enable many more women to earn their livelihood during menstruation.In addition to his own outreach, Muruganantham’s work has also inspired many other entrepreneurs to enter this area, including some that propose to use waste banana fibre or bamboo for the purpose.
Latest Achievements
– Padma Shri Award announced for Social work by President of India
– January,2016: Muruganantham- Selected for Indian Business Leader of the Year-2016 award Horasis India Meeting, Cascais/Portugal, By Portugal Govt and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)
– January 2016: Lectured for Fortune 100 company executives organised by Tuck University, USA.
– Muruganantham selected by Time Magazines 100 Most Influential People in the World 2014 for his accomplishments
– He is in the company of the likes of Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Serena Williams, Ronaldo, Xi Jinping, Jeff Bezos, Malala, Shinzo Abe, Beyonce, Putin, Arundhati Roy, Hilary Clinton etc., to name a few of the 100.
– He awarded “Jewel of Coimbatore” by Rotary Coimbatore metropolis this award earlier received by Management Guru. C. K. Praghalath.
– Recently he gave lecture to 70 CEOs of Unilever including the CEO of Unilever Mr.Paul Polmen. – Lectured at Harvard University
