Brief:
Pramod Priya Ranjan is a design professional, social entrepreneur, and External PhD Scholar at Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
Pramod pursued his Master of Design (M.Des.) in Industrial (Service and Strategy) Design from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi (2020-22) and Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) in Industrial (Product) Design from MIT Institute of Design, Loni, Pune (2015-19).
He was chosen as a Special Mention of Forbes India 30under30 (Design category) 2024. He received the Outstanding Alumnus Award 2024 from MIT ADT University.
He cofounded Onpery® (Care Form Labs Pvt Ltd) in 2020, to enable communities to adapt sustainable menstruation, by designing innovative menstrual products, communication assets and programs. The venture has been supported and recognized by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), UNDP Accelerator Lab India, UNDP India, Youth Co:Lab India, Invest India, and IIT Delhi, to name a few. His projects have received the Lexus Design Award India 2022, CII Design Excellence Award 2021, and India’s Best Design Project Award 2021, to name a few.
Detailed:
Pramod is a trained designer, passionate about creating and enabling desired value in people's lives. Currently, he is an External PhD Scholar at Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, and works full-time on-site at BITS Pilani - BITS Design School, Mumbai, as an Academic Fellow.
He earned his Master of Design (M.Des.) in Industrial Design from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) between 2020 and 2022, completing courses in Strategic Management, User Experience, and Innovation. He secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 3 in the Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED) 2020. His postgraduate project focused on redesigning Reusable External Menstrual Wear through his co-founded venture, Onpery® (Care Form Labs Pvt Ltd), which promotes menstrual well-being. A utility patent was filed for this project. In November 2022, he received a grant of 50 lakhs INR from the Endowment Nurture Fund initiative, established by the IIT Delhi Endowment Management Foundation to encourage entrepreneurial talent among graduating students.
He completed his Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) in Product (Industrial) Design at the MIT Institute of Design (MIT ID), Loni, Pune, from 2015 to 2019, where he graduated as a Gold Medalist. In 2024, he received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from MIT Art, Design and Technology University, recognizing his exceptional achievements and contributions.
After completing his B.Des., he incubated from July 2019 to July 2021 at the AIC-MIT ADT Incubator Forum, Pune, supported by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, Govt. of India, and from January 2022 to January 2024 at the Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi. During this time, he co-created a wellness venture that encourages communities from rural to urban areas to adopt sustainable wellness practices through strategic, innovation-led designs and the development of products, communication assets, and programs. This led to the co-founding of Onpery® (Care Form Labs Pvt Ltd) in January 2020, where he serves as Director.
Through the AIC-MIT ADT Incubator Forum, he co-designed and developed India's first combination of a proprietary patent-applied Menstrual Cup and Menstrual Disc. The first design version of the Menstrual Cup was soft-launched in March 2021, and the final version, along with the Menstrual Disc, was released in October 2024. The Biotechnology Ignition Grant Scheme (BIG 16-cycle Grant) of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, primarily sponsored this project, with Venture Center, Pune, as the BIG-Partner. Additionally, AIC-MIT ADT Incubator Forum, UNDP Accelerator Lab India, Youth Co:Lab India, and Startup Bangladesh Limited sponsored the project. It received recognition, including the Jury's Choice Award at the Lexus Design Award India 2022, the CII Design Excellence Award 2021 in the Wellness and Personal Care Category, and India’s Best Design Project 2021 award.
Through the Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi, he co-designed and developed a proprietary patent-applied Reusable External Menstrual Wear, which was his thesis project at IIT Delhi. He also co-authored and developed two proprietary graphic novels and audio-video narrations on puberty-led well-being literacy, covering topics like menstruation, reproduction, physical-emotional safety, and digital media management, which were released in series from October 2023. Additionally, he co-designed and developed two programs to reduce period poverty ('Onpery Collective - Period Poverty') among financially limited people and create well-being literacy ('Onpery Collective - Well-being Literacy'), both launched in 2023. Through the ‘Onpery Collective - Period Poverty’ program, his venture successfully helped an indigenous women artist community in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, adopt sustainable menstruation practices, making them the first community in India to do so through Reusable Period Underwear. To document and promote this as a case study, he produced a 36-minute documentary film titled Ladeej Problem? - Sohrai Chapter. The trailer was released in May 2024, with private and film festival screenings to follow. These projects received sponsorship primarily from the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) of Invest India - Startup India, Government of India, and IIT Delhi Endowment Management Foundation.
Forbes India recognized his work in designing and developing solutions for menstrual well-being by awarding him a Special Mention in the Watch Out For section of the Forbes India 30under30 (Design category) 2024. He also received the ‘Jharkhand Gaurav Samman’ from Prabhat Khabar at its 40th anniversary through the Governor of Jharkhand, Mr. Santosh Gangwar, and the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Harivansh Narayan Singh, for his “special contribution to society” through Onpery®, Care Form Labs Pvt Ltd.
Pramod’s strengths lie in design research, the design and development of products and services, innovation, strategy development, project management, venture building, fundraising, and academic facilitation. He has consistently engaged with projects addressing social needs, special needs, and academia throughout his academic and professional journey.