10th Class dropout in Telangana turns innovator of affordable farm machines

Chary was not able to complete his formal education and is a 10th class dropout. He started working as a mechanic and learnt to repair tractors. Though he had two acres of land he was not able to afford to buy or hire cows to cultivate it. Talking to the media, he said: “In 2011, I started designing the mini-cultivator which replaces manpower and dependence on oxen.”

While designing the machine, he first used an auto-rickshaw engine but that did not work. He then switched over to a machine from Hyderabad which he modified and used in the mini-cultivator. This was successful and encouraged by this he started manufacturing cultivators by assembling engines from Kolhapur, material and gears from Hyderabad.

Now he has a company – Varun Engineering Works – which has 12 workers and has sold 4,000 cultivators. These machines were sold in other parts of India before Covid but post-pandemic they are now being sold in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Among the products manufactured by him are the 22-inch cultivator mounted with a 4 hp engine allowing farmers to use it in places where crops are planted over 22 inches apart. For the purpose of light ploughing in fruit gardens and dryland farms, Chary made a version with a 5 hp engine.

His other innovations include a power weeder; a mini-tractor that can be connected to a trolley and can move up to one tonne; and a tractor hydraulic lift that can lift 500 kilograms with ease.

He was bestowed with the President’s Award in 2015 and the National Entrepreneurship award in 2018 for his innovations.