Forbes India 30 Under 30 2025 - Project Baala: Championing menstrual health

Soumya Dabriwal (left) and Aradhana Rai Guptaw, Co-founders, Project Baala Image: Madhu Kapparath; Directed by Kapil Kashyap

Millions of menstruators in India, particularly in rural areas and from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle with menstrual taboos and period poverty, where they are treated as ‘impure’, cannot afford quality products, or access water and sanitation facilities to manage their menstrual hygiene. This not only makes them miss school or work, but also negatively affects their health.  

Soumya Dabriwal and Aradhana Rai Gupta, through their social enterprise Project Baala, have been working to provide quality, low-cost menstrual products, and create awareness about menstrual hygiene and health. Since 2017, their enterprise has reached a million beneficiaries across 28 states in India, apart from Ghana, Nepal and Tanzania.

Dabriwal started building the venture while she was pursuing an economics degree from the University of Warwick, and soon joined hands with Gupta, her childhood friend who has an MBA from Cornell University. They are both from business families, and were sure they want to get into entrepreneurship, but in the impact space.

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The first product by Project Baala was a sanitary pad reusable up to two years. “It has antimicrobial treatments, an absorbent core and is leak-proof,” says Dabriwal. Their manufacturing base is in Delhi-NCR and they have since expanded the portfolio to sustainable menstrual cups and biodegradable pads. In 2025, they are working with Swedish scientists to launch hydrophobic pads, which “will last up to five years, use one-tenth of the water needed to wash reusable pads, and are biodegradable,” says Gupta. They sell their products through a grassroots network of around 500 women from the community, apart from 70-odd non-profits who help them reach difficult communities and disseminate knowledge.