Arunachalam Muruganantham is a social entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu, India who revolutionized menstrual hygiene for women. Inspired by his wife using unhygienic rags, he experimented to develop low-cost sanitary pads and faced challenges getting support. He tested prototypes himself using a prosthetic bladder and consulted IIT students. This led to developing the first machine making low-cost sanitary napkins affordable for rural women. His machines are now installed across India and other countries, helping address women's health issues from lack of access to pads. His story demonstrates persevering despite challenges to create social impact.

1. ONE MAN,
DARED
TO FIGHT ALONE,
TO CHANGE THAT
LACK OF MENSTRUAL HYGIENE IS THE
LEADING CAUSE OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
IN WOMEN IN RURAL INDIA

2. ARUNACHALAM MURUGANANTHAM:
HOW I STARTED A SANITARY NAPKIN
REVOLUTION

3. WHO
IS
ARUNACHALAM
MURUGANANTHAM?

4. A COMMON MAN
 Son of a poor Handloom weaver from rural
Coimbatore, Tamilnadu
 A school dropout, at the age of 14
 Took up menial jobs, like, supplying food in
factories, farm labour, welding, etc
 He got married…

5. THEN HE BECAME ONE OF
INDIA’S MOST POWERFUL
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
BUT HOW?

6. INSPIRATION
 Noticed his wife using unhygienic rags instead of
sanitary pads as pads were expensive
 He analyzed the high quality pads and realized they
were made from simple raw materials
 Being from a handloom background, he set out to
experiment with various materials to make low cost
pads

7. CHALLENGES
 After a while, his wife and sisters refused to test his prototypes
 Medical college girls refused to help him, when he became
persistent
 His family called him a pervert and stayed away from him
 He tested it on himself, by using a prosthetic bladder attached
at his waist
 He consulted IIT Madras students and faculty for helping in
designing a machine

9. AND THEN IT WAS BORN
THE FIRST
MACHINE
TO MAKE LOW COST SANITARY NAPKINS

10. ACHIEVEMENTS
 Won the President’s award for innovation
 His machines cost between Rs 1 lakh- 3 lakhs.
International machines cost Rs 1.5 crores
 His machines are installed in 23 of 29 states
 Planning to install machines in 106 countries
 Listed in TIME’s 100 most influential persons

12. JAYAASHREE INDUSTRIES
HIS BABY

13. WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
NEVER GIVE UP!
PERSEVERE
LEARN TO TAKE INSULTS
PLAY TO YOUR
STRENGTHS

14. RECAP
 Arunachalam Muruganantham? A common Man
 Inspiration - Rural women using unhygienic rags
 Challenges - His family disowned him
 Achievements - His machine and numerous awards
 What Can We Learn From Him

16. LINKS AND REFERENCES
 https://www.ted.com/talks/arunachalam_muruganantham_how_i_started_a_sanitar
y_napkin_revolution
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachalam_Muruganantham
 http://www.thebetterindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/muruganantham.jpg
 http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73331000/jpg/_73331692_muruga6.jpg
 http://newinventions.in/images/awardfrompresident.jpg
 http://www.menstrualman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Menstrual-Man-
Bollywood.jpg
 http://altruistclick.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Muruganantham.jpg
 http://woman.ng/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Arunachalam-Muruganantham.jpg

17. Sameer Mathur
Marketing Professor 2009 – 2013
Ph.D. and M.S. (Marketing) 2003 – 2009
Marketing Professor 2013 –
Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
17
© Sameer Mathur 17
Madan Kumar Muthu
Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
MBA Student