YFLO - Interactive Session with Arunachalam Muruganantham

Young FICCI Ladies organization, [YFLO] invited Mr. Arunachalam Muruganantham (A renowned TED Speaker - Best Innovation award winner by the President of India Ms. Pratibha Patil in November 2009) to address YFLO and FLO members "A Revolution....a boon to the women self help groups by a rural Indian innovator".

Ashita Nawalgaria, Chairperson YFLO Hyderabad said that "The fundamental focus is be to empower women by developing informative curricula, which will enhance their knowledge and awareness on innovation and social entrepreneurship"

Mr. Arunachalam Muruganantham, spoke on the challenges encountered by him while inventing his low cost sanitary making machine. He highlighted that his aim was to see that all rural women in India use affordable hygienic products of sanitization during his lifetime.

The evening ended with a sumptuous high-team where members networked with one and another. The program was kindly supported by Botanika Ltd and Stemade Pvt Ltd.

About YFLO:
Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO) is a youth wing of FLO. FLO was established in 1983 as a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). FLO is an all India forum for women, with headquarters in New Delhi and 8 chapters throughout India representing over 2000 members. Our members include entrepreneurs, CEOs, Executives, Doctors, Educationists, Designers and leaders in NGOs.
The primary objective of FLO/YFLO is to promote entrepreneurship and professional excellence in women. FLO/YFLO acts as a catalyst for the socio-economic advancement of women through talks, seminars, learning events, panel discussions and workshops.

The FLO Hyderabad committee members are :
Chairperson - Ashita Nawalgaria
Treasurer - Shruti Malpani
Vice Chairperson - Shakuntala Divi
Program Mentor - Ritu Shah
Secretary - Samia Alam Khan
Program Coordinator - Ritu Singh

Profile of Guest Speaker - Mr. Arunachalam Muruganantham:
Mr. Arunachalam Muruganantham is an inventor from rural Coimbatore who uncovered the need for an inexpensive solution to unsanitary and unhygienic practices of women in rural India. 1 le created and patented a machine which could manufacture low-cost hygiene products tor less than a third of the cost of the commercial ones. This new invention of a mini napkin making machine was awarded the best innovation national award by the President of India, Mrs. Prathiba Patil on 18th Nov, 2009 at New Delhi.

Mr. Muruganatham is a renowned TED and INK speaker and is invited by many countries to talk about his revolutionary success. He founded the company, Jayashree Industries, which markets these machines to rural women all over India and provides them with employment and a wav to uplift them from poverty. ITis innovation has been praised for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, and his commitment to his society has earned him several awards. Despite offers from several corporate entities to commercialize his venture, he has out rightly refused to sell out his invention and continues to provide these machines to self-help groups (SHGs) run bv women all over India.

Mr. Arunachalam was recently felicitated by the Chattisgarh Chief Minister for his commendable achievements. He has been invited as a guest faculty at many business schools in India. 1 le was also invited at the Innovators speech at JNTU in Kakinada.