“Life isn’t without risk,” Ardhi Krishna Rao (47), who served in the Indian army for 26 years as a havaldar (sergeant), points out. A native of Gopalpur in Odisha, he often mulled over the future; his retirement was drawing close, and Ardhi knew that sitting idle wouldn’t suit him. Years of intrepidity in the forces had instilled in him a love for adventure.

It is exactly this sentiment that I Create India was looking to tap into. The initiative provides training, mentoring, and handholding support to Indian Army Veterans and officers, helping them launch their businesses post-retirement. Today, Ardhi’s passions have found expression in his business of kewda oil processing. He gives full credit to I Create India for guiding him with the nuances of entrepreneurship.

Known as ‘white lotus’, the kewda flower is no less than a hero in Odisha’s Ganjam district. The processing involves steam distillation, which coaxes flavour out of the flower into an oil that retails for a handsome amount — according to reports, a litre can sell for as close to Rs 5 lakh. The oil is a lucrative aromatic for the food industry.

Having grown up in Odisha, Ardhi was well aware of the mysteries of this fragrant screwpine. But, he admits he had never thought of it from a commercial standpoint. It was his interaction with I Create India that changed this. “The course they provided helped me understand how to keep a business going.” Ardhi adds, “People wouldn’t take a fauji (army official) turned businessman too seriously. So, I had to put in an extra effort to be good at my idea.”

Ardhi invested days and nights across three months, closely interacting with farmers engaged in kewda oil farming to understand the intricacies of this potential venture.

During this time, he learnt that it takes a total of 30,000 kewda flowers to render one kg of product. “I purchase the kewda flowers from farmers for Rs 30 a piece. It is a big investment. When I started two years ago, everyone advised me against it, telling me that it was a risk to invest all my savings into something that might not work.”

© The Better India