In our journey we visited many faces with our poultry Sector legends, and one among them is Mr. P.S Nandakumar Founder. Mentor & First generation Entrepreneur Nanda Group
1. Are you originally from Bangalore?
Yes.
2. Why did you choose the Poultry / Livestock profession?
I was working in my grandfather’s flour mills. Way back in 1965, flour mills used to get wheat from the USA under the PL 480 programme, and the wheat used to come in bulk ships. These ships were also carriers of corn to different parts of the world.
When the Government of India allotted wheat to flour mills, the mills used to clean the wheat from foreign materials like corn, broken wheat, etc. The flour mills used to get corn (maize) as a by-product. I had to use the by-products in a way that could add value — that’s how the concept of feed manufacturing came to mind. Corn/maize is one of the major ingredients of poultry feed, which led me to undergo training in poultry farming.
The training programme was conducted by the Animal Husbandry Department of Karnataka. I underwent training for 3 months and learnt how to run a poultry farm and produce poultry feed.
3. As compared to other big players in the industry, how does your organization is different?
My organization is one of the oldest poultry farms, started commercially in the year 1965. As we grew year after year, we kept expanding. My cost of production of an egg was the cheapest because we were manufacturing our own feed. We were very competitive in egg prices.
One of the important points is that earnings from poultry are exempted from income tax. From there on, I kept increasing my poultry operations and started marketing feed in the state of Karnataka. The next step was backward integration. In 1972, I got into the hatchery business. In 1978, I associated myself as a franchisee with Venkateshwara Hatcheries.
I expanded hatchery activities to southern Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. I established my own units in these places and also got into broiler operations. In 1989, we started value-added products under the brand name NANDUS in Bangalore. Now we sell chilled chicken, chicken portions, and value-added marinated products, heat-and-eat products, and ready-to-cook products.
Any farmer who reaches our organization can find a one-stop shop. We were among the earliest to have complete poultry operations.
4. Please tell us about your family.
Born in a vegetarian family, it was very surprising to get into the poultry business. Even though there was a certain amount of resistance in the family, I started this poultry operation.
I have two sons — my elder son is P. Naveen Kumar, and my younger son is Narendra K. Pasuparthy. Naveen was educated in the USA, where he completed his MBA. Narendra did his engineering in India and his master’s in the USA. After working for more than 10 years, he returned and got involved in developing consumer chicken products known as NANDUS Chicken. Naveen Kumar manages livestock operations for the entire group.
5. What do you think about your organization being a leader in the livestock industry?
Being in the poultry industry in all segments — farming, feed manufacturing, hatcheries, and further processing — and with over 58 years of experience, Komarla Hatcheries and Komarla Feeds have become well-known names in the industry.
I was the Chairman of the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (commonly known as CLFMA). CLFMA is an all-India body representing the animal husbandry segment. As Chairman, I represented many issues of the industry and interacted with the Government of India and various state governments.
I am also the founder member of the Karnataka Hatcheries Association and headed it for 17 years as President.
6. What are your favourite food?
Usually vegetarian, but I occasionally eat chicken. I consume one egg every morning.
7. What are your hobbies?
During my college days, I was a good badminton and tennis player. I enjoy watching movies, reading, and music. I also learnt to play the Veena for many years.
8. Anything you would like to add?
The poultry industry is a great and growing industry. I feel proud that I am able to supply good-quality protein to the public.
