Shunning a flourishing career as bureaucrat to turn an entrepreneur is not for everyone. At least not at a time when aspirants leave no stone unturned to grab a government job.
However, Balasore-based Nina Singh is one of the rare few who quit secure jobs twice to do something unique and innovative in life.
She has been into freshwater pearl farming and growing Stevia plant, a sweet herb devoid of calories and diabetes risk since 2013. Needless to say, Nina has carved an enviable space for herself as a woman entrepreneur in the state.
Before embarking on a career on pearl culture, Nina worked as an Odisha Administrative Officer for 12 years and as a DGM in Jindal Steel and Power Limited for two years. Asked about the reason behind quitting the jobs, she says, “The cushy job, fat salary and stable life were not my objectives. Since my childhood, I wanted to venture into unexplored territory. I took the plunge as I was not happy inside despite leading a luxurious life. So, I decided to change profession.”
Expectedly, Nina didn’t get the family support after she quit the jobs. But she was determined to make her mark.
How did the idea of pearl farming come to you? To this question, Nina shares: “I had done my Ph.D in Zoology and was a research scholar. I came across the concept of pearl farming when it was not very popular in India. But took the risk of starting my own startup to grow and sell pearls. I got training at a Kerala-based private pearl growing farm and launched it in Odisha.”
However, the task was not an easy one. Her first two attempts to grow pearls ended in failure. So, she took another round of training from Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking about her incredible journey, she continues: “The initial days were tough as everybody in the field was secretive on the right method of farming. So, I decided to grow pearls in a small area with maximum production. I started with 500 mussels spending Rs one lakh but only 30-40 of them survived. My second attempt was a complete failure as not a single mussel survived. But I could make a profit of Rs7-8 lakh on third occasion. Since then, there was no looking back. I initially started the culture of pearl in transparent buckets, followed by culturing it in cemented tanks and then in ponds of various sizes.”
Nina, on the prospect of pearl business in Odisha, says, “It is pretty discouraging as there are a few takers for pearls here. You have to create your own market. I have been exporting pearls to three states– Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Delhi where pearls are in great demand. Lack of proper marketing for pearls and shortage of mussel varieties are major hurdles in Odisha.”
On what could be the reason why less people are taking interest in pearl culture, Nina says, “It takes nearly two years to get good quality pearls. It is a long time which is why farmers are not taking active interest in pearl culture. Besides, getting good quality mussels and identifying the market are also big issues.”
Nine, for her entrepreneurship, has been conferred with Prof. M.C Nandeesha Farmer’s Innovation Award by Asian Fisheries Society, Indian Branch and felicitated by CIFA, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Nina’s saga of success does not end here. She is also a torch bearer in manufacturing Stevia. “Stevia is a natural sugar free sweetener, which is an alternative to sugar. Keeping in view the growing rate of obesity and diabetes among the Indians, I came up with the idea of entering into the Stevia field. My primary objective was to contribute in reducing the cases of diabetes and obesity by popularizing the intake of Stevia in the diet”, says Nina.
Nina continues: “We have developed Stevia Tea, Stevia Drinks, Stevia liquid drops, Stevia sweet premix and stevia sweets among others. Stevia is not only a zero calorie sweetener but also has zero glycemic index under the brand name of “STEVISAN”. It will be available in the market from the month of November onwards. That apart, we have developed improved cultivars of Stevia plants by phenotypic selection and we are into propagation of this improved cultivar and we distribute it throughout India. Our variety of Stevia provides 10-12 per cent total Steviol glycoside, which is considered to be one of the best varieties. Having said this, we have a roadmap to go for large scale plantation of Stevia in Odisha and set up an extraction unit thereafter thus, having a holistic approach of Stevia, its cultivation, extraction and formulation.”
Her startup Tisya Agri Venture is also into frozen fish product manufacturing that sells stuff such as fish finger, fish nuggets, fish cutlets, prawn wontons, prawn tempura, prawn popcorn and prawn butterfly and ready to eat items like fish pickle and prawn pickle.
“We have started marketing PAN India under the brand Fish Cruncho. We have started our endeavour but it is yet to come up full-fledgedly because of COVID-19,”says Nina who is also an MBA and has a Bachelor’s degree in law.
Rashmi Rekha Das, OP
