Meet man who was once a UPSC aspirant, lost all hopes, now selling world’s most expensive mangoes at Rs...

Nandkishore Gaikwad, a committed aspirant for the UPSC exams, saw his future take different turn of events when covid forced his coaching institution to shut down and research during online preparation landed him to discover cultivation of a unique variety of Japanese mangoes in different Indian states with high commercial viability.  

Journey from UPSC aspirant to mango seller

Nandkishore Gaikwad went to Pune to study for civil service, however, due to lockdown his coaching institution had shut down and he was forced to return to his hometown, Bhosi village in Bhokar taluka, Telangana. He started online preparations from home. While doing so, one day he came to know about Miyazaki mangoes, a rare variety of the fruit from Japan which are among the most expensive in the world.  

He researched about them more and discovered that farmers in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra’s Parbhani region, and Jharkhand were already cultivating this rare variety. Upon further research he also found the business potential of the mangoes’ variety and talked about it to his mother pushing her to start its plantation.  

He then bought ten Miyazaki saplings online from the Philippines, at Rs 6,500 each. He planted the initial saplings in 2023 which bore fruits this year. His plantation now has 11 to 12 mangoes. To sell his produce at a profitable market rate, he sought help from Maharashtra’s farmer Warpudkar, who hails from Parbhani and had expertise in cultivating Miyazaki mangoes and selling them in profits. After taking his guidance, Gaikwad set a price for each piece at Rs 10,000. He gave these mangoes to his mother Sumanbai Gaikwad, a farmer who sold them at the fixed price in the agriculture fair and brought fortune back home. Many in her village started producing the premium mango variety, taking inspiration from her success.