1. 8/26/2016 Bengaluru boy gets offers from 6 US varsities, picks Princeton ­ Times of India
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Srikar Gollapalli was motivated to study public administration to fight
powerlessness.
Bengaluru boy gets offers from 6 US varsities, picks
Princeton
TNN | May 8, 2015, 04.46 AM IST
Printed from
BENGALURU: Six US universities rolled out the red carpet for Srikar
Gollapalli, the Bengaluru boy who has already made an impact with his
role in the Swachh Bharat initiative. Srikar, 23, chose Princeton to do his
Masters in Public Administration (MPA).
Two of the six varsities -Princeton, Harvard, Maxwell Institute (Syracuse
University), Duke, Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon - even offered to waive
his tuition fee and provide aid. In September, the Colgate University
graduate will join Princeton University, which also offered a stipend to
meet his daily expenses.
The local lad is an alumnus of National Public School, Rajajinagar, and
grew up in BEL Layout, Vidyaranyapura, Working at Public Policy Research
Centre (PPRC), New Delhi, as a research fellow, Srikar has done a
comparative study on 'Politics of Performance' under the guidance of Vinay Sahasrabudde, director, PPRC. The study paper
was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Srikar is helping the Union government formulate the policy for public
sanitation as part of the Swacch Bharat Mission.
Srikar was motivated to study public administration to fight powerlessness. "There is a need for institutional restructuring in
civic agencies to enhance the quality of life of the common citizen, who lacks power. I'm working on eradicating open

2. 8/26/2016 Bengaluru boy gets offers from 6 US varsities, picks Princeton ­ Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Bengaluru­boy­gets­offers­from­6­US­varsities­picks­Princeton/articleshowprint/47195948.cms?null 2/3
defecation in India through the Swacch Bharat Mission. India still battles diarrhoea, anaemia and hepatitis - results of open
defecation and unhygienic surroundings," Srikar told TOI.
"We have always supported his varied interests as his ideas were not run-of-the-mill. He wants to return and work for India after
his masters. There are enough opportunities in every field if a person excels," said Ramakrishna Gollapalli, Srikar's father.
Project Shudhify!Srikar Gollapalli was the youngest speaker at IIMB's 7th International Conference on Public Policy and
Management held in August 2012. During his summer internship in 2012, Srikar took up a study on the effectiveness of

3. 8/26/2016 Bengaluru boy gets offers from 6 US varsities, picks Princeton ­ Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Bengaluru­boy­gets­offers­from­6­US­varsities­picks­Princeton/articleshowprint/47195948.cms?null 3/3
services at Bengaluru's civic agencies, like BBMP, BDA, government hospitals, police stations, sub-registrar offices and RTOs,
based on the satisfaction of the public. The findings of Project Shudhify were published in TOI on August 19, 2012.