Arjun Deshpande: 18-year-old Businessman with Tata
The skill is not obedient to age. This has been proved by 18-year-old Arjun Deshpande from Maharashtra. Today he and his company ‘Generic Aadhaar’ are in the news.
Renowned industrialist Ratan Tata has personally invested in Arjun Deshpande’s company formed two years ago. Arjun Deshpande considers meeting with business tycoon Ratan Tata a big achievement in the initial stages.
He says, “We have a great opportunity to fulfill the goal of making generic medicines available to the people.” Ratan Tata ji has also been an advocate of affordable health facilities. In such a situation, we have to complete this goal as soon as possible.
Arjun Deshpande is the founder and CEO of Generic Aadhaar. He himself is a resident of Thane in Maharashtra and his company is also in Thane.
Generic Aadhaar does retail business of medicine in a way. She takes medicines from drug manufacturers and sells them to retail traders, ie Chhoto Medical Stores.
This company also provides generics, branded, homeopathy and Ayurveda medicines to be manufactured in a government certified manufacturing unit. Arjun Deshpande says that his company provides medicines at 80 percent lower prices.
How did he meet Tata
Arjun says that after working continuously in this field for two years, his hard work finally paid off. He told how he met Ratan Tata.
He said, “For the whole two years I was trying to create awareness about generic medicines. India is the manufacturing hub for generic drugs all over the world. Generic medicines are widely exported from here to other countries. After visiting many countries, I felt that the same medicines should be available to the people of India at cheaper rates. “
“Then I created a model of making medicines available to people at affordable prices. During this time, I was also organizing a health camp for vigilance. Ratan Tataji came to know about this and he liked my aim. He got a call from me and he called to meet me. Then I told them my plan and work model and they agreed to invest. “
What is Work Model
Arjun Deshpande says that marketing and branding of medicines increases their value. In such a situation, we emphasize on generic medicines which may be available to people at affordable rates.
Generally, all medicines are a kind of ‘chemical salt’ that is made after research to different diseases.
The generic medicines which are in these are cheaper because their branding does not cost. However, the companies that make and sell these drugs are expensive.
Arjun explains, “We buy medicines directly from GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified manufacturers of the World Health Organization and deliver them to small single shops. We take generic medicines from places like Palghar, Ahmedabad and Pondicherry. “
“Small shops are facing stiff competition from online sales and big drug stores. We are also trying to help them. Also, people will be able to get generic medicines from medical stores if they need it. ”
He says that the doctor should prescribe generic medicines. In many places doctors have started doing this because the salt of the medicine matters, not its brand. Due to Corona, the budget of the people has been reduced a lot. In such a situation, generic medicines can reduce people’s expenditure. This may benefit the elderly and the poor.
He told, “80 to 85 percent of medicines in India are generics. There are only a few medicines that companies make by researching themselves. Hydrochloroquine used in corona virus is also a generic drug. India is exporting not just its brand but generic medicine. “
How the company started
Her mother also has an important role in Arjun Deshpande’s entry into the field of generic medicines.
His mother is in the international business of pharma. From a young age, Arjun used to go to different countries with his mother. From there, Arjun realized that generic medicines from India go abroad but people of India could not get this cheap medicine.
After this, he thought of working in the field of generics and then started his company in 2016.
Arjun Deshpande says, “As an entrepreneur I saw that a lot of work can be done in this field and this also serves a social purpose.” I had thought since childhood that I will not do a job but will create employment in the country. So I decided to start a new venture. “
He started his company with an investment of 10 to 15 lakhs, which has expanded a lot today.
Regarding his upcoming plans, Arjun Deshpande says that Ratan Tata has invested so far. After this, we will try to expand medicine in as many cities as possible.
