History & Governance

A hand of support is more than just a gesture of compassion – it’s true humanity!

History & Governance

Our Story :

Pranav Foundation was established on April 26, 2021, just one day before the second COVID-19 lockdown in India. Born out of a commitment to uplift underprivileged communities, the foundation took immediate action during the pandemic by setting up an Oxy Bedded Covid Care Centre. This first initiative provided critical care to over 15,000 individuals during the crisis. Since then, Pranav Foundation has expanded its reach and impact, focusing on education, health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. Our journey reflects our deep-rooted belief in grassroots charity and the power of collective action to bring about sustainable change.

Key Initiatives :

Education : We support over 40,000 children through Digital Classrooms, Computer Labs, and Pusthaka – our stationary kit distribution initiative, as well as WASH Programs across 54 government and government-aided schools in rural Karnataka.”
Healthcare : Our foundation provides essential dialysis services to over 1,000 patients, completing more than 7,700 dialysis cycles annually at five locations across Karnataka. Additionally, we conduct health camps for school children, pourakarmikas, and underprivileged communities, as well as Cervical Cancer Screening Camps for women, reaching over 3,500 beneficiaries.
Environmental Sustainability : Through our Swachh Bharat Abhiyan project, we benefit over 800 households by managing waste using electric autos. We have completed 3,500 plantings through our NSS, student, and corporate volunteers across both urban and rural areas. Our efforts help create cleaner, healthier communities.
Disaster Relief : From our inception, disaster relief has been a cornerstone of our mission. We were quick to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have also provided essential relief materials to those affected by the Wayanad landslide in 2024.

These initiatives, implemented across 89 rural villages in Karnataka, demonstrate our commitment to driving positive change and creating a lasting impact.

Governance :

Pranav Foundation’s governance structure is designed to ensure that our mission and vision are realized through effective leadership and strategic planning. Our Board of Trustees, composed of dedicated professionals, oversees the foundation’s operations, finance, monitoring, and sustainability efforts.

Operations & Management : Ensuring efficient execution of our programs, from planning to implementation, while maintaining a strong connection with the communities we serve.
Finance & Audit : Overseeing financial integrity and transparency, ensuring that resources are utilized effectively to maximize impact.
Monitoring & Evaluation : Regularly assessing our projects’ outcomes to ensure they meet our high standards and continue to align with our mission.
Sustainability & Planning : Developing long-term strategies to ensure the continued growth and sustainability of our initiatives, aiming for a lasting impact.

Our governance framework is designed to support our ambitious goals and ensure that every action we take is aligned with our commitment to creating a better, more equitable world.

Pranav Foundation is a non-profit grass roots charitable organisation providing state-of-the-art healthcare, education, employment, and technology advancements through engaging workshops, resources distribution and content creation.

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A Rotarian since 1991, he is the founder trustee of the Nayanajyothi Trust, focusing on eye donation awareness creation, and the Sri Ramana Free Clinic Trust, involved in large-scale school screening. He is also part of many NGOs as a trustee or advisor. Apart from leading many large-scale initiatives, such as reaching around 50000 refurbished computer donations to schools and colleges through the Sankya Vidya Foundation and Rotary and Portable Solar Lights to tribals in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, he was involved with the AzimPremji Foundation’s initiative “Community Learning Centres” for 3 years. Since 2010, he has been spending his full time on service initiatives.

Dr. Ashok S Alur is hails from Bevur village in Bagalkot district & received his earlier education in Bevur & completed his B.Sc.Agri; M.Sc.Agri and Ph.D. in Agriculture from Agricultural University Dharwad. He also holds a MBA & a Post Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Extension Management. He has undergone over 10 national & international EDP& MDP programs in India, USA, Germany & Kenya.

He has around 25 years of experience in Higher Education, Natural Resources Management, Agriculture, Horticulture, Rural Development, International Cooperation, Food Security, Policy Advocacy, Institutional Development, Entrepreneurship Development & Formation & Development of FPOs etc.

Dr. Ashok Alur is currently serving as the First Vice Cancellor of newly formed Kodagu University by Government of Karnataka and has the dream & responsibility of setting up of this new university.

He also served as the First Director of Centre of Excellence for Farmer Producer Organizations. He is instrumental in formulation of Karnataka state FPO policy-2018, Developing a common brand for FPOs, training of CBBOs & Resource Institutions. He guided the designing of innovative training programs & support mechanisms for 1200 FPOs in Karnataka covering over one million farming families of Karnataka.

He served as the First Vice Chancellor of Bharatiya Engineering, Science & Technology University at Anantapur & was instrumental in setting up of the new university in Rayalseema Region of Andra Pradesh.

He served as Special Officer at Horticultural University & played pivotal role in setting up of new Horticultural University & establishment of state of art infrastructure & over 10 advance research centres. He facilitated over 25 institutional collaborations with national & international organizations. He coordinated a team of experts for Land Resource Inventorization of 300 micro watersheds, development of resources atlas & Decision Support Systems for land & water management under World Bank assisted program in Karnataka.

In his capacity as Project Coordinator at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT), he spear-headed an international joint initiative of ICRISAT-FAO-CFC for promoting value chain across cereals & millets in Asia & contributed for the development of innovative institutional model for the collaborative development of agriculture sector in Asian countries.

As Program Coordinator & Head, Sustainable Agriculture in Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland, he was instrumental in implementing Indo-Swiss Participative Watershed Development program in Karnataka & Natural Resources Management Programs in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu by promoting participative & collaborative approaches in Natural Resources Management & Watershed Development.

He also worked as a Team Member in Agriculture-Man-Ecology, a bilateral program of Govt. of Netherlands & India and contribute for Participative Technology Development in Agriculture.

He has served as Honorary Advisor & guided the Food Security Initiatives by Ministry of Science & Technology & Higher & Vocational Education of Government of Mozambique. He guided the establishment of Soil Health laboratories & popularization of concept of Custom Hiring Centres in African countries such as Mozambique & Swaziland. He is serving as member on various committees, missions & delegations of governments and international organizations such as UNDP, GEF, ICRISAT, FAO, World Bank etc.

He is recipient of more than 20 International Awards, 6 National Awards and 6 state awards. Important ones include, CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION &LOYALTY AWARD from ICRISAT; HONORARY RECOGNITION from Government of Thailand; HONORARY CREDENTIAL & SORGHUM RESEARCH INSTITUTE AWARD by Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences-Government of China; CERTIFICATE OF HONOUR from Government of Swaziland and CERTIFICATE OF HONOUR from Government of Mozambique in recognition of his contributions for Food Security initiatives. National awards such as DISTINGUISHED INDIAN AWARD and SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDs. Important state awards from Government of Karnataka include, SARVOTTAM SEVA AWARD; SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR AWARD & INDEPENDENCE DAY HONOUR. Ministry of Rural Development, Government of Andhra Pradesh has honoured him with STATE HONOUR for his services in agriculture and rural development.

He has served/been serving on several committees & missions/delegations. He has visited over 50 countries on several international missions, delegations, assignments & has delivered keynote speeches in over 50 national-international conferences. He has guided several students for PG & doctoral research. He has published over 50 books, 25 bulletins, over 50 technical- scientific papers, 250 soil and water resources atlas. He writes regular columns several journals, magazines and news papers. He has setup a target for himself to reach million farmers through Mission Million Farmers and promotion of millets.

Dr. Shylashree N is currently working as an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru. She is having 16 years of teaching experience. She was a recipient of the best PhD thesis award for the year 2016-2017 in Electronics and Communication Engineering from BITES.

She has received the best IEEE researcher award in IEEE-AGM meeting held during 2021 from Bangalore IEEE section. She has received best researcher award in the year 2021-2022 from ISTE chapter,RVCE. She has also received the best paper award in IEEE-ICERECT held during 2015 at Mandya.

She has research publication in 30 International Journals (out of which 10 journals are SCI journals), 6 Springer book chapters and 9 International conferences. She has got granted for 3 patents out of which 1 is US , 1 is German and 1 Indian patent and published 1 Indian patent in the area of cryptography. She has also got grant for 2 patents in the area of VLSI. She is also the co-author of the Network Theory, Engineering Statistics and Linear Algebra and Control Engineering textbook.

She has funded project on chalcogenide materials & consultancy projects on FPGA and has delivered many technical talks. She has delivered lectures as a subject matter expert in VTU e-shikshana and EDUSAT program. She is a recipient of international travel grant under SERB young research scholar category. She is a life member of ISTE, IETE, fellow member of ISVE, senior member of IEEE and IEEE CAS Execom member.

Her areas of interest include Network Analysis, Analysis and Design of Digital Circuits, Digital VLSI Design, Analog & Mixed mode VLSI design, Low power VLSI Design, Cryptography & Network security, Statistics and Linear algebra and Control Engineering.

Prof Sahana B has received her PhD degree from Visveswaraya Technological University. Currently, she is working as Assistant Professor in the department of Electronics and Communication, RV College of engineering.

She has 17 years of teaching experience. Her areas of interests are in Communication Systems and Networking. She has published many paper publications into her account.

Dr Anupama Malagi has been conferred with several prestigious awards like the ‘Outstanding Women Leadership Award’ from Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC), Indian Iconic Educationist Award from ISDA, New Delhi and Emerging HRD Thinker Award from ISTD, New Delhi.

She has published several research papers in national and internationally renowned and refereed journals. She has also presented research papers in both national and international Conferences. She has served as Member, BOE for Reputed Management Institutes at Bangalore. She is also serving as a member of the Quality Cell of several institutions and is mentoring them in their accreditations.

She holds professional membership of NIPM , ISTD, EPG Group, London and is an empaneled member of BCIC. She is a Certified Trainer from ISTD and Internationally recognised mBIT Coach. Has a rich academic experience of 26 years and is actively involved in mentoring the students in their overall personality development.

Dr. Sarika is a physician by qualification and have spent 23 years into Corporate sector in a capacity of Techno-functional Advisor into innovation consulting, specifically into MedTech Sector. She has a passion to improve well-being of every individual in society so they can reach their full potential. She has been associated with multiple innovative initiatives for the betterment of patient/people lives including health camps, advisory consulting to the Dept. of Health & Family Welfare – Govt. of Karnataka and many more.

Dr. Purushottam Bung is an engineer with a rich experience of around 28 plus years in Academia and industry (domestic and international). He completed PGDM from University of Melbourne, Australia (Now also known as Melbourne Business School – one of the top 10 B-schools in the world then) and MBA from Monash University, one of the top 500 universities in the world. He has a rich part time entrepreneurial experience of around 10 plus years in the food processing industry. He is on the expert/advisory/editorial panel of many Institutions, Universities, NGOs and journals. He has presented and published 28 plus research articles in national and international refereed journals.

Dr.Bung was conferred “Best Academic Leader of the year” by BMA( Bangalore Management Association during 65th Anniversary Award -2022. He is member of many Associations and Institutional bodies. He was elected the Fellow of World Academy of Productivity Sciences at Beijing, China in 2019. He is also a research fellow of Institute of Productivity, UK.

Dr. Bung is offering management consultancy services to local Businesses, Institutions and entrepreneurs as well. He has undertaken several funded research projects in various domains. He has completed several MOOCs and Certification programs in the area of Design Thinking, Leadership, Negotiation, future of learning and so on as part of continuous learning endeavor.

Dr. Bung has been training professionals on Building Entrepreneurial Skills; Design Thinking; Leadership skills; and Yoga. He is a qualified YOGA Instructor certified by YOGA Certification Board, Ministry of AYUSH, GOI.

Currently he is working as Professor and Director at R V Institute of Management, a prestigious stand-alone Autonomous Institution of excellence at Bangalore which is part of prestigious RV group of Institutions.

Shri Prasad Joshi brings with him wealth of experience both in the corporate world and in the social services. Semiconductor technologist by profession, he firmly believes that any “development” must be inclusive. He has been actively involved in volunteering for various social causes. This includes collaborative efforts between people and governing bodies to address civic issues, private – public partnership to address needs during crisis like Covid pandemic and even organizing voter awareness and registration drives during elections. As a part of one such initiative, Prasad through collaboration with other volunteers, collected donations from likeminded citizen which helped Pranav Foundation in funding medicine kits for 1000+ front-end covid warriors during second covid wave.

Prasad is a certified eco volunteer of Karnataka Forest Department and believes that the rich biodiversity of India must be preserved and conserved for our future generations to cherish. He has been involved in efforts to uplift the life or foot soldiers in different tiger reserves across India. In one such effort, Prasad in collaboration with like minded citizen, organized ration kits for 200+ families of contract work force in different tiger reserves of India during Covid pandemic due to sudden loss of pay faced by this work force.

Prasad is also active in India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) and serves on the Executive Council of its Bangalore chapter. In the technology space, Prasad has been active in organizing different events including international conferences and summits which have seen active participation from prominent thought leaders.

Mr. R Prasad has been an industrialist for more than 28 years. He founded Megha Agrotech Pvt. Ltd. in 1989, a pioneer company focused on manufacturing drip irrigation pipes, sprinklers and other relevant irrigation equipment. The company has served more than 200,000 farmers throughout South India.

Along with being an entrepreneur, Mr. R. Prasad also involves in various service projects undertaken by the Art of Living Centre Bengaluru of Sri Sri Ravishankar Gurudeva. He was the executive director of the Kumavathi river rejuvenation project and Trustee of the Sri Sri Ayurveda Trust.

Padma Shri recipient Harekala Hajabba is an Indian social activist and orange vendor living and working in the city of Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. He saved money from his business to build a school in his village.In 2020, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, for his initiative and achievement.

Harekala Hajabba was born into a Muslim family of very modest financial means, he dropped out of school at an early age in order to earn money and contribute towards family expenses. Many years ago, when a foreign tourist asked him the price of an orange in English, he did not understand what had been said and felt embarrassed. He had not had the privilege of any kind of formal education. That day he vowed to make a school in his village, which was deprived of school. He kept part of his savings from selling oranges, to start a school in his village, Newpadapu. He was able to start a small school. Today, the school, which has grown with government support and donations from private individuals, is known as Hajabba School. He is affectionately known as ‘Akshara Santa’ (letter-saint). He is known for the extraordinary contribution he made, despite his own relatively constrained circumstances, to the cause of education in his native village. Hajabba’s next dream is to build a Pre-University college in his village.