Karkhana Makerspace: Siddharth Bhatter on Building India's Next Generation of Innovators
In the traditional Indian education system, the focus has long been on marks and theoretical knowledge. But innovation rarely happens on a whiteboard. Siddharth Bhatter, the Founder and CEO of Karkhana Makerspace, is on a mission to change this by providing a "factory" for ideas. By opening a space where students, artists, and engineers can "make their hands dirty" with 3D printers, laser cutters, and electronics, he is democratizing innovation in Odisha and beyond.
The Void: Why Makerspaces Matter
Siddharth’s journey began with a personal frustration. As an engineering student, he realized that after college hours, there was no place for students to actually build things. "Usually, what we have is after our college hours or after our school hours, we don't have a place to go and work around," Siddharth explains. This gap in hands-on learning ignited the idea for Karkhana Makerspace.
The name "Karkhana" (meaning factory in Hindi) was chosen intentionally. Siddharth wanted to create a facility where people come not just to learn, but to build products, skills, and futures. Launched in 2016 in Odisha, it became the state’s first private maker facility, catering to everyone from school children to hardware startups.
From POC to Product: The Karkhana Impact
Karkhana Makerspace is more than just a room full of tools; it’s an R&D hub. Siddharth and his team have moved beyond teaching to active product development. Some of their notable achievements include:
- NCERT Learning Kits: Developing pre-primary learning kits using 3D printing and acrylic prototyping.
- Smart IoT Solutions: Designing and supplying over 500 units of smart IoT switches for industrial use.
- Sports Tech: Creating a motion-tracking chip for hockey sticks to help athletes analyze their stroke force and angle.
- E-Waste Sustainability: A focus on reusing electronic components to teach technical skills while promoting sustainable practices.
Why Odisha?
Siddharth saw Odisha as the next big education hub of Eastern India. With a high concentration of top colleges and a developing industrial sector, he identified a potential market of students hungry for practical innovation. By choosing to build in a non-metro city, he is helping bridge the digital and technical divide between India's northern and eastern regions.
India as an Electronics Hub: The Path Forward
Siddharth is a vocal advocate for making India a global electronics hub. He points out a critical disconnect: while India produces a massive number of engineers, most gravitate toward software. "Almost 70 to 80 percent people want to be in the software industry... but what about the devices those software run on?" he asks.
He believes the key to competing with global manufacturing giants like China is not just infrastructure, but a mindset shift toward hardware R&D. By training students in PCB design, circuit fabrication, and hardware prototyping from a young age, Karkhana Makerspace is laying the groundwork for a future where Indian engineers are also master builders.
Siddharth’s Advice for Aspiring Makers
- Do Your Survey: Never jump into a market without understanding your customers and competitors. Innovation without demand is a hobby, not a business.
- Don't Always Chase Innovation: Sometimes, reverse engineering or making a better replica of an existing product is the best way to start.
- Keep Your 'Child-like' Spark: As we grow, we focus too much on marks and lose our curiosity. The moment you lose your child-like curiosity, you lose your innovative edge.
- Take a Gap Year: If you're unsure, take a year to work on yourself and your ideas. One year of focused self-improvement can change your career trajectory.
Building a Sustainable, Bootstrapped Legacy
One of the most impressive aspects of Karkhana Makerspace is that it remains a completely bootstrapped organization. Siddharth has built the facility using his own savings and the revenue generated from workshops and product R&D. His goal isn't just to "make crores," but to create a self-sustaining system that generates a massive social and technical impact.
As a mentor at the Atal Innovation Mission and a guest faculty at NIFT Delhi, Siddharth continues to influence the next generation of designers and engineers. His message is simple: stop looking for jobs, and start building things. Whether it's a simple metal weld or a complex IoT chip, the act of creation is the ultimate skill.