About GroundReality Trust · PotHoleRaja

Ten years on India’s roads

It started with a WhatsApp number in 2016. Today we are an impact innovation lab that researches, builds and measures what keeps roads safe.

Mission: to make our world pothole-free and safer.

A decade of PotHoleRaja

Our base, not our boundary

Phase 1
The movement
Citizens report potholes on WhatsApp; 4,500 fixed by 2018.
Volunteers with the flag, Bengaluru, 2019
Phase 2
The CSR partner
50+ programmes; model roads with ABB, Hyundai and Goodyear.
A company volunteer day, Bengaluru, 2019
Phase 3
The innovator
GridMats patent granted; tested with IIT Hyderabad and MSRIT.
A GridMats tile after the roller, 2021
Phase 4 · 2027 →
The impact lab
Research, AI, materials, villages and youth, all measured.
A safer street, designed on screen

What the decade built

Trust, reach and delivery

40,000+

potholes fixed

30+

cities, Jammu to Kozhikode

10,000+

volunteers, 25,000+ hours

50+

CSR programmes

14,000+

children in one school programme

140 t

plastic waste managed in a year

140 t certified by Climate Collective Foundation, FY 2022–23.

More partners and clients

Toyota KirloskarHyundaiNissanMercedes-BenzRoyal EnfieldABBGoodyearMoody’s AnalyticsQwikcilverCitrixLenovoTargetMcAfeeKPMGIntelHitachi EnergyRMZ Eco-WorldWhitefield Industrial AreaBangalore ClubLioness Club, JayanagarArundhati FoundationCars24Wipro GE HealthcareLaurus BioArcesiumElektrobitEicher Group FoundationMallya Aditi International SchoolBoschIBMMercedes-Benz R&D IndiaVMwareIndus TowersDiageo

A worker sprays a patch with the hose from the PotHoleRaja patching truck — Truck patching

Lenovo leadership and employees at a road safety drive — Lenovo leaders on site

ABB model road in Bengaluru at night with LED street lights — ABB model road

Giant helmet installation for helmet awareness in Goa — Helmet drive, Goa

Who leads the lab

Dr Prathap B, founder

Indian Air Force veteran, then a VP at HP and a process consultant in Malaysia and Dubai. Harvard ALDP alumnus and visiting faculty at IIM Bangalore.

Inventor of GridMats and the urban-heat cooling surface; author of 4 books and the forthcoming Cockpit to Potholes.

Watch him at TEDxLavelleRoad or in Why I started PotHoleRaja (2 min).

People and governance

Engineers, researchers, administrators

Advisory committee

Retd. Chief EngineerPWD and BBMP
Professors of Civil EngineeringIISc, MSRIT and RV College
Professor of Geotechnical EngineeringIIT Hyderabad
Former Deputy CommissionersPolice and Excise
Senior Advocate and CSR expertLegal advisor
Research councilAI, materials, agri and public-health experts

Structure & compliance

GroundReality TrustCSR implementation, research, youth programmes
InventionsGridMats and the urban-heat cooling surface, invented by Dr Prathap B: a granted Indian patent, a published international (PCT) application and a 2026 patent application
QualityISO 9001:2015
RegistrationsCSR-1 with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs; 12AA and 80G with the Income Tax Department; PAN

Registration and patent numbers, and copies of the certificates, are shared for specific projects.

Where the impact counts

ESG, the SDGs and Schedule VII

Our work maps to Schedule VII items (ii), (iv), (ix) and (x), and to SDGs 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 17.

See the full map

● primary · ○ supporting · ESG lens: the pillar each practice reports into
Practice	ESG lens	SDG 2 Hunger	SDG 3 Health	SDG 4 Learning	SDG 8 Work	SDG 9 Industry	SDG 11 Cities	SDG 12 Circular	SDG 13 Climate	SDG 17 Partners
Roads & mobility	S		●	○		○	●
AI & data	E · S · G		●			●	●		○	○
Materials & climate	E					●	○	●	●
Rural & agri	E · S	●			●	○		○
Youth & students	S		○	●	○
Research & advisory	G				○			○	○	●

E · Environment

Plastic diverted, CO₂ and water saved, cooler surfaces

S · Social

Lives protected, students reached, local jobs created

G · Governance

Audit-ready evidence, BRSR-ready data, independent studies

Schedule VII

(ii) education & livelihoods · (iv) environment · (ix) research · (x) rural development

Road deaths are SDG target 3.6 and safe transport is target 11.2. Confirm ESG and Schedule VII fit per project with your CSR advisor.

Proposed goals · for discussion

Where we want to be by 2030

10

cities using AI road-risk maps

100

Zero-Harm School Zones

5,000 t

of waste turned into roads

50

villages with all-weather roads

1,000

student researchers

100

CSR programmes and NGOs advised

Backed by Startup India, AGNIi (Government of India), Social Alpha, Tata Trusts and Brigade REAP.

Ten years on India’s roads

Our base, not our boundary

The movement

The CSR partner

The innovator

The impact lab

Trust, reach and delivery

Dr Prathap B, founder

Engineers, researchers, administrators

Advisory committee

Structure & compliance

ESG, the SDGs and Schedule VII

E · Environment

S · Social

G · Governance

Schedule VII

Where we want to be by 2030

Every road fixed starts with someone who cares