60-year-old from Mysore becomes a billionaire after supplying parts to Chandraayan-3

The success of Chandrayaan-3 moon mission made Ramesh Kunhikannan's net worth about $1.1 billion. (File photo)

With its landing near the south pole of the moon, Chandrayaan-3 made India the fourth country to achieve this feat, and 60-year-old Ramesh Kunhikannan, a billionaire.

The electrical engineer and founder of Kaynes Technology India in Mysore had supplied electronic systems used to power both the Chandrayaan-3 rover and the lander during the successful mission, Forbes reported.

Kaynes's shares -- whose value had already multiplied by three times since its debut on the Bombay Stock Exchange in November 2022 -- gained another 40 percent after its role in the successful moon mission was made public. This made Kunhikannan's net worth about $1.1 billion, thanks to his 64 percent stake in the company.

Kaynes Technology India gets more than half of its $137 million annual revenue from manufacturing printed circuit board assemblies, Forbes reported. It supplies electronic systems and design services to automotive, aerospace, medical, and defense industries with Kaynes’s products being used in electronic controls in electric vehicles to ventilators and railway signals.

Benefits from 'Make in India' programme
A graduate of Mysore's National Institute of Engineering, Kunhikannan founded Kaynes in 1988 as a contract manufacturer of electronics. According to a report in Forbes, his wife Savitha Ramesh joined him in 1996 and is now the company’s chairperson. Kaynes has in recent years benefited from the Centre's “Make in India” programme, aimed at boosting local manufacturing.

Thanks to the increasing use of electronics across industries in India, the company’s annual revenue has almost tripled from $49 million in the financial year 2020, while its net profit increased ten-fold over the same period to reach $11.4 million in the fiscal year ended March, Forbes reported. Revenue for the six months till September was up 39 percent to $78 million, with a net profit of $7 million. Kaynes expects its revenue to be around $208 million in the fiscal year ending March 2024, the publication reported.

Read more: Top Chinese scientist claims Chandrayaan-3 did not land in Moon's south pole: Report