Who is Aman Rai? IIT graduate reveals THIS ‘Dark side of Make in India’

An IIT graduate, Aman Rai expressed his disappointment in having his factory license rejected. He shared on the social media platform X how he struggled to secure a factory license for his business.  

He disclosed that when he approached a vendor he mentioned ‘out-of-pocket' expenses to acquire factory license would cost Rs 70,000. While he mentioned his experience, he also accused the government for its ‘Make in India’ initiative, under which it promises to provide ‘ease of business’.  

Dark side of Make in India!

Went and filed for the license directly. Being asked for 1L as bribe to get the license now!  https://t.co/Rm45EGEuRE

— Aman Rai (@amankrai28) January 8, 2025

Rai further vented his anger on X revealing the ‘dark side of Make in India’. He said that he walked away from the vendor to directly apply for the license. “Dark side of Make in India! Went and filed for the license directly. Being asked for 1L as a bribe to get the license now!” 

Rai’s post did not only encourage reactions but also garnered over 4 lakh views. His post caught the attention of a senior official who connected with him and promised to investigate the matter. He then wrote, “X is powerful. This blew up, a senior official from commerce ministry reached out to understand the issue. Will likely get resolved quickly.” 

Many criticised the incident and many shared their own struggles. One of the users said, “These slogans are to make the common folks feel good about the country, who have no idea what goes on the ground. Your fault if you believed in ‘Make in India & ease of doing business’ ranks." Another one wrote, “Printo too has been asked for 2 lacs for our new factory location when we decided to move factory. We refused. In the melee I've been summoned to court under the Code of Criminal Procedure.” 

Who is Aman Rai 

Aman Rai graduated from IIT Delhi with a degree in chemical engineering and is a passionate runner and has run many ultra-marathons. While he wanted to balance his work and fitness, needed for marathon running, he found it difficult as the gym equipment at his home was not enough to fuel him for marathons. His passion for both fitness and technology led him to discuss business ventures with his other three friends who shared a common love for these. All of them studied at IIT Delhi. As a result, they decided to start a home fitness device, using the expertise of two of them in robotics.  They first created their own home gym that was especially designed for limited spaces, like home to do efficient strength training. Three years after working on this project, they started Aroleap X in May 2022, which is an all-in-one home gym equipment.   

Aman Rai had earlier worked in Urban Company, GSK and Unilever where he gained expertise in product management and digitalization. He is also certified in Nutrition and Fitness. Aman drives innovation in the wellness sector by fusing a solid technical background with an entrepreneurial attitude. He was earlier featured in Shark Tank India where he and his team cracked a ₹1 crore deal.