Who is Arjun Deshpande, 20-year-old prodigy backed by Ratan Tata revolutionizing pharma industry

Ratan Tata, the veteran entrepreneur is known for backing young business minds and among them is 20-year old Arjun Deshpande.

With a picture of him holding Tata’s hand, Deshpande posted an emotional birthday wish for his ‘mentor’ last year and made a public demand that the Indian government confer the business tycoon with ‘Bharat Ratna’, India’s highest civilian post.

One of India’s youngest entrepreneurs, 20-year-old Arjun Deshpande has been called the ‘Robin Hood of Indian Pharma’. When other kids are engrossed in innocent teenage activities, Arjun decided to bring a monumental shift in the nature of the medicine market when he founded Generic Aadhaar aged just 16.

The pharma startup is a platform which gives all citizens of India the “basic right” to procure quality medicines at affordable prices.

In 2018, he convinced Ratan Tata to join his revolution and invest in the company.

While most large pharma firms offer maximum discounts of 10-15 percent on their medicines, Deshpande’s Generic Aadhaar gives up to 80 percent on WHO-GMP approved medicines.

His mission has been quoted as making India an “expensive medicine mukt nation” by 2025.

Arjun was also praised by India President, Droupadi Murmu for his revolutionary moment in the field of healthcare by making medicines up to 80% affordable for 140 crore Indian citizens.

Arjun's relentless efforts in revolutionizing healthcare have enabled medicines at 80% lower cost for patients suffering from multiple diseases, for example, diabetes and cancer. His commitment towards making healthcare affordable has multiplied the growth of the brand across the length and breadth of the country to ensure the benefits of affordable healthcare reach out to the ones in need.