Fireside Reflections | Shashi Kumar of Akshayakalpa on Sustainable Scale & Unit Economics | Impact Mixer IIM Bengaluru |

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The Citizen Advocate Summary: Declaring April 11 as Safe ePay Day

Proposing April 11 as Safe ePay Day to mark UPI’s pilot launch on April 11, 2016, by NPCI with 21 banks, initiated by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan in Mumbai. This initiative celebrates UPI’s seamless integration of banking and merchant payments.

Yes, April 11 is vacant in the UN Observance Day calendar

UPI 10th Birthday -April 11 2026 – 267  Days to go

 


  Akshayakalpa Organic | Farming the Future with Purposeful Scale

 Impact by Design: Lessons on Scale, Sustainability, and Social Innovation

 

Just back from the Fireside Chat on ‘Social Impact: Insights from the Field’ at the Impact Mixer, IIM Bengaluru.

It was a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from Mr. Shashi Kumar, Founder & CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic, and to gain insights into his philosophy and journey in building one of India’s pioneering organic dairy enterprises.

There were multiple valuable takeaways from the session, but for me, one stood out above the rest: the focus on unit economics.

Mr. Shashi Kumar emphasized that Akshayakalpa Organic remains a live experiment in sustainable agriculture, with a clear understanding of the scale it aims to achieve.

 

While the maximum number of farmer partners may eventually reach 5,000, the current network stands at 2,200 farmer partners spread across three clusters in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

This sharp focus on the philosophy of Unit Economics will enable to keep focus on my goal too.

 

Mr.Shashi Kumar, Founder & CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic

👤 Background & Journey

  • Holds a Master’s in Telecommunication Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and spent 17 years in the telecom/IT sector, including 13 years at Wipro (Akshayakalpa Organic Milk).
  • Grew up in a farming family in Attibele (near Bangalore) but chose a corporate career before returning to revitalize agriculture (Ruralvoice). There was only one demand from his parents during his student life, i.e focus on studies and not on farming. Hence, Mr.Shashi Kumar pursued engineering and spent considerable time in IT Sector.
  • In 2010, along with 27 friends from the IT world, he co‑founded Akshayakalpa to create a sustainable, farmer‑empowered organic dairy business (The Plate). The initial funding round was easy compared to later funding rounds. A painful decision was taken to transform from a Section 8 Company to a full-fledged profit company.

This pivot, not sure if it was painful for the founders of Akshayakalpa Organic enabled the company to further its objective of Unit Economics.

The Not for Profit vs the Profit struggle was also a part of initial fund raising round in Bay Area.

🌾 Vision & Mission

  • Established India’s first certified organic dairy enterprise, promoting closed-loop regenerative agriculture that integrates soil health, dairy, and supplementary crops (theorganicmagazine.com).
  • Works to empower small & marginal farmers through entrepreneurship, financial access, training, and assured market linkages (Weekday).
  • Advocates for sustainable livelihoods—today farmers earn roughly ₹100k/month gross, with ₹50k net income—making farming viable and aspirational for youth .

🚜 Operational Model & Scale

  • Partners with over 1,200 certified farmers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, running clusters near Tiptur and Chengalpattu (Ruralvoice).
  • Each farm adopts a 3‑year transition to full organic certification, deploying:
    • Automated milking, biogas and biodigester systems
    • On‑farm fodder production & soil regeneration
    • Technology‐backed animal and milk quality monitoring (Wikipedia, LinkedIn).
  • Processing setup: a 40,000 L/day plant near Tiptur (plus new facilities) with packaged products supplied to Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, plus expanding grocery lines (The Hindu).

📈 Impact & Growth

  • Revenue growth: from ₹29 cr to ₹300 cr annual sales, targeting ₹400 cr in 2024‑25 (lokcapital.com).
  • Break‑even expected by March 2024, supported by new plants and scaling (The Hindu).
  • Product expansion beyond dairy: organic groceries, greens, vegetables, eggs, honey, ghee, and more (theorganicmagazine.com).

♻️ Sustainability & Social Initiatives

  • Aggressive plastic recycling campaign: 40 tonnes of milk packs collected across major cities through its "Give Back the Milk Pack" drive (SME Street).
  • Farms are fully closed‑loop: cow dung converts to biogas and compost; no chemical inputs allowed (The New Indian Express).
  • Emphasis on ethical governance—no bribery, compliance-focused—and empowering farmers with autonomy and fair pay (chessbase.in).

🎯 Leadership & Philosophy

  • Shashi blends tech innovation with grassroots change-making, developing decentralized models tailored to small-acreage Indian farms (Akshayakalpa Organic Milk).
  • Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s natural farming ethics, he believes in focusing on solvable problems and letting the process change them (theorganicmagazine.com).
  • A keen chess player, he applies strategic thinking and anti-corruption discipline from chess into running the business (chessbase.in).

✅ Key Takeaway

Shashi Kumar’s story is a powerful bridge between corporate tech expertise and rural agricultural revival. Through Akshayakalpa, he's crafted a scalable, regenerative dairy model that is:

  • Farmer-centric and empowering
  • Technologically empowered
  • Economically sustainable
  • Environmentally regenerative

Want to dive deeper into any part of this—like their technologies, farmer onboarding, financials, or social impact? Happy to explore!

Background of today’s fire chat: i.e July 18th, 2025

 

🎯 Impact Mixer – Tech‑Enabled Social Innovations

Host & Organiser

  • Presented by NSRCEL, IIM Bengaluru
  • Partnered with Capgemini under their Impact Orbit initiative (Luma)

📅 Date & Time

  • Friday, 18 July 2025
    • Doors open with a fireside chat at 4:30 PM
    • Networking mixer follows from 5 PM onwards (LinkedIn)

📍 Location

  • IIM Bangalore, Bannerghatta Road, opposite Apollo Hospitals, Bilekahalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560076 (Luma)

👥 Who It’s For

  • Social entrepreneurs, changemakers, ecosystem enablers, and impact-driven leaders interested in tech-based social innovation (Luma)

🎤 Fireside Chat

  • Shashi Kumar, Founder & CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic
  • Moderated by Sridhar Pabbisetty, Mentor‑in‑Residence at NSRCEL
  • Focus on scaling rural and sustainable enterprises (LinkedIn)

🎯 What to Expect

  • An opportunity to connect, collaborate, and spark meaningful conversations
  • Ideal for those looking to engage with people passionate about tech-led social innovations (LinkedIn)

🔍 Why You Should Consider Attending

  • Meet top-tier social innovators and leaders in the impact space
  • Hear firsthand how rural-focused enterprises can scale sustainably
  • Grow your network with people from Capgemini’s Impact Orbit ecosystem
  • Be part of Bengaluru’s vibrant social innovation community

 

Capgemini's Impact Orbit is a tech-enabled social innovation initiative, in partnership with NSRCEL, that supports early-stage social ventures focused on solving critical challenges in education, healthcare, livelihoods, and other impact sectors. It provides resources, guidance, and a network to help these ventures grow sustainably, with a focus on strengthening business models, fundraising readiness, and impact measurement. 

 

Summary of Capgemini’s Impact Orbit Ecosystem

Capgemini’s Impact Orbit is a specialized initiative focused on supporting social enterprises and impact-driven startups that leverage technology to solve pressing social and environmental challenges. It is part of Capgemini’s broader corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability strategy, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

 

 

 

## Call to Action 

I urge governments, financial institutions, businesses, and communities worldwide to join hands in declaring April 11 as **Safe ePay Day**.

Let’s celebrate UPI’s milestone by making **Safe ePay Day** a global movement for secure, innovative fintech.

Together, we can build a future where financial access is universal, and every e-payment is safe—starting with **Safe ePay Day** in 2026.

 

No Vada Pav, not even one bite,
Till SafeePay Day takes off in flight.
Quirky vow with a Mumbai flair—
Announce the date, and I’ll be there!

 

Disclaimer: - The only Joy is Safe ePayments. Nothing More – Nothing Less.

April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay Day’.

Appeal to Declare April 11 as Safe ePay Day


Driven by belief in UPI’s transformative power, this initiative—free of personal gain—aims to celebrate India’s fintech legacy and spark a global movement for secure, inclusive e‑payments.

 

 

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