Ask him if Biotechnology is his passion and pat comes the reply, “It’s a need more than passion”. Electronics engineer by profession what lead this entrepreneur to start something tangent to this background? What were his passions as a student? What were his dreams? Most important of all how did he strive to realize his dream?
TCG talks to the Recombinant (Anti-Cancer)
Drug Pioneer to find out more….
TCG: How were your school days? How did you become an engineer?
Dr. Reddy: I was always notorious for questioning my teachers a lot right from my school days. It is probably this quality/ thirst for knowing things in depth that brought me into research. Observation and imitation were my forte‘. I was good at mimicking my teachers too, especially my Telugu teacher whom I regard as embodiment of knowledge and humility even today. His poetry rendition was so good that I never used to allow him to explain the gist of the poem; I would request him to sing it again and again to enjoy the melody in it. Such was my craze for literature. He was the sole reason for my passion for Telugu literature. I am an ardent fan of all the wonderful poets of Andhra and have a huge collection of both poetry and prose. I am a Bachelor of Science first and then Engineering graduate. I did my electronics engineering from Andhra University in the year 1970, diploma in Computer Sciences from Germany and MBA from Osmania University.
TCG: You are known for your deep language fervor. Do you think that youth today have the same interest?
Dr. Reddy: I can see the interest in true literature waning. True I am an ardent fan of our language and love to speak it wherever and whenever possible. We need to learn English too as it is the global language and make communication easy but not at the cost of our mother tongue. Each one of us has the duty to keep our culture and heritage alive. It is a wrong notion that one is at a loss if he goes to a Telugu medium school. I have studied in a Telugu Medium school till grade eleven and then moved to English medium. My English is as good as Telugu. I think youth today have the necessary exposure and intelligence to understand the advantage of being a multi linguist. So please do not neglect or forget your mother tongue.
TCG: When did you start Shanta Biotechnics and why?
Dr. Reddy: It all happened when I attended the WHO conference at Geneva, during which one of the officials of ‘Developed’ (West) country said ‘How long do we need to support these beggar countries’ referring to India, Pakistan, Srilanka, Myanmar etc. He said this because the WHO asked all the countries in the world to develop vaccine for Hepatitis –B on their own and not depend on any other country. But we were still dependent on them for the medicine. This is the reason for the scorn. This humiliation was more of an inspiration than a challenge. Incidentally I don’t believe in challenges, I take things as they come. Back home after several hurdles Shanta came into existence. I take pride in saying that we are the leaders in India in this field and we will strive to maintain standards and safety always.
TCG: Every drug/vaccine Shanta makes has Shan- as a prefix. Is there any specific reason behind this?
Dr. Reddy: My mother has always been my impetus right from my childhood. She instilled taste for literature and always insisted on living a meaningful life. Shanta Biotechnics came to forth because of her encouragement, support and strength. Hence her name is a prefix for every product from Shanta Biotechnics. I would also like to mention about my maternal uncle with whom I learnt discipline and punctuality. My schooling was from his house where discipline was way of life.
TCG: What were the difficulties you faced as a novice in this field? How did you face them?
Dr. Reddy: First of all I realized by the time I was planning to start Shanta, that life without hurdles has no spice. Remember as kids all of us flew kites? Which direction would you stand while you are about to release the kite in to the sky, while your friend is holding the other end? Isn’t it against the direction of wind? Sure there is a risk of your kite getting torn with the force of wind, your fingers getting cut with the sharp thread, but that doesn’t stop you, does it? Similarly every problem must double your will… That is the way I look at things. Thankfully, every obstacle that came in my way aided my success/ growth. For instance when I planned to start the Plant, here in the city, all the government officials protested assuming that it would add to the environment pollution. No matter how I tried explaining to them that this plant is like any other factory, the reply was a vehement ‘No’. This made me move to Medchal which is a wonderful place, away from the din o the city. Due to almost zero pollution, we neednt have to spend much on the filter-cleaning process which otherwise would have costed me a fortune in the city.
TCG: It is said that Research in India is not as advanced as in other countries. What do you have to say on this?
Dr. Reddy: True we are still not up to mark in R&D though our youth have the potential our education system and resources are not adequate for research work. Research takes tremendous amount of patience and dedication and you ought to be cut for that. I always had the natural ability to go deep in to things right from the childhood and wanted to learn about details of every machine I saw. Students today seem to be under the impression that research means not many returns financially, whilst regular professional course will fetch them a career soon and make them independent. It is not totally wrong but if we have an attitude like this we will have very less number in research. Instead if students are encouraged and motivated to take up research to take up bigger/satisfying tasks they will surely turn towards it. Our R&D wing is very strong with a team of enthusiastic and dedicated scientists.
TCG: Do you think PadmaBhushan is the ultimate recognition for you?
Dr. Reddy: PadmaBhushan is definitely a huge honour for me but I have also received almost 170 awards other than that. Whenever an award is announced for me I always see it as a collective reward, not just for one individual. I often tell my people, PadmaBushan is for the entire Shanta Biotechnics Team just like every petal of the lotus adds to its beauty, so do my employees. Since all of us cannot go on to the stage to
collect it, I am representing them.
TCG: What are your interests other than literature?
Dr. Reddy: I love music in all forms (he hurriedly adds), classical music, and vocal as well as instrumental. My favourite raaga is Mohanaraagam; in fact I am nicknamed MRP (Mohana Raaga Priyudu- Lover of Mohana Raaga) in my friend’s circle! Not just Indian I love music from all over the world.
TCG: You have visited many places all over the world. Other than our country which country do you think has a rich heritage and culture?
Dr. Reddy: Almost all Asian countries have rich heritage, like China, Korea, and Indonesia. I am interested in learning about different cultures but site-seeing is not my cup of tea!
TCG: What is your message for the youth?
Dr. Reddy: When you wish you do something unconventional there are little chances that you may get society or family support. But that should not deter you from your goal. When you are passionate about your cause/work you will be provided with necessary strength from anywhere, unexpectedly. Do not let petty things stop you; they must accelerate you to seek your goal faster. End of the day you will the most content one on the earth when you see your dream come true!