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GridMats in the media
Podcasts, news features, talks and recognition since 2016. Every item links to its original source.
The HinduBusiness StandardThe Financial ExpressThe New Indian ExpressDeccan HeraldThe Better IndiaYourStoryThe Times of IndiaThe Economic TimesIndia TodayShark Tank IndiaGodrej Design LabTEDx
Podcast and video
Engineering the Everyday, with Godrej Design Lab
Podcast · 68 minHow can India build roads that last?Godrej Design Lab × The Gyaan Project · Engineering the Everyday · 68 min · 11 Sep 2026 (opens in a new tab)
On TVShark Tank India S3: the GridMats pitchFull pitch · Shark Tank India
(opens in a new tab)
ManufacturingHow GridMats panels are made1 min · GridMats on YouTube
(opens in a new tab)
ResearchGridMats research and applications1.5 min · GridMats on YouTube
(opens in a new tab)
TalkThe India Advantage Summit, BengaluruTalk by Dr Prathap B Rao · TIA Summit
(opens in a new tab)60-second explainers
GridMats1:36Recycled plastic roads that don’t need repairYouTube short (opens in a new tab)
GridMats1:331 lakh m² built: from research to road standardsYouTube short (opens in a new tab)
GridMats1:49Smart roads: IoT sensors inside the pavementYouTube short (opens in a new tab)GridMats1:41Solar footpaths, green walls and cooler citiesYouTube short (opens in a new tab)GridMats1:57Why I started PotHoleRajaYouTube short (opens in a new tab)Godrej Design LabCan we make roads more sustainable by design?YouTube short (opens in a new tab)Godrej Design LabCould plastic build better roads?YouTube short (opens in a new tab)The Gyaan ProjectEngineering the Everyday, clip 1YouTube short (opens in a new tab)The Gyaan ProjectEngineering the Everyday, clip 2YouTube short (opens in a new tab)News and features
Independent coverage
13 Jan 2026The Better IndiaInside PotHoleRaja’s technology that turns recycled plastic into safer, stronger roadsNational Road Safety Week feature on the patented GridMats base. (opens in a new tab)15 May 2024Autocar IndiaHyundai “Be The Better Guy” with PotHoleRajaHyundai’s road-safety campaign feature on Dr Prathap B Rao and GridMats. (opens in a new tab)23 Jun 2023HomegrownA civic start-up is on a mission to fix Indian roads using recycled plastic (opens in a new tab)4 Feb 2023The Financial ExpressFixing India’s pothole problem: what needs to be done (opens in a new tab)18 Dec 2022Khabar InfraPotHoleRaja embarks on a road-repair mission using plastic waste (opens in a new tab)4 Nov 2022Surfaces ReporterIs there a technology to make roads pothole-free? GridMats (opens in a new tab)12 Oct 2022Business StandardPotHoleRaja: how one start-up is fixing roads the eco-friendly way (opens in a new tab)24 Sep 2022The New Indian ExpressPotHoleRaja: comrades-in-arms for a good cause (opens in a new tab)Aug 2022YourStoryPotHoleRaja uses recycled plastic and tech to make roads safer (opens in a new tab)1 Aug 2022The Better IndiaPotHoleRaja builds a 25% cheaper road from 3,000 kg of plastic (opens in a new tab)31 Jul 2022Commercial Design IndiaBengaluru’s first sustainable road, made with over 3,000 kg of recycled plastic (opens in a new tab)2022Realty+Brookfield Properties builds Bengaluru’s first sustainable road with recycled plastic (opens in a new tab)18 Jul 2022Planet CustodianBengaluru’s first plastic-waste road, made of 3,000 kg of waste (opens in a new tab)15 Jul 2022The Hans IndiaPotHoleRaja builds road from Ecoworld to ORR using 100% recycled plastic waste (opens in a new tab)14 Jul 2022The HinduIn Bengaluru, road built with 100% recycled plastic waste between Ecoworld and ORR (opens in a new tab)5 May 2022SocioStoryOn a mission to make the world pothole-free, PotHoleRaja has also been saving lives (opens in a new tab)23 Nov 2021Deccan HeraldThis Bengaluru group repairs potholes across India (opens in a new tab)
Talks, interviews and LinkedIn
In Dr Prathap B Rao’s words
Godrej Design Lab × The Gyaan Project · 11 Sep 2026How can India build roads that last?Podcast, 68 min: why roads fail, how potholes form and how recycled plastic builds a stronger base. (opens in a new tab)Shark Tank India, season 3 · 2024The GridMats pitchThe full pitch on the official Shark Tank India channel. (opens in a new tab)ADPC · CARE for South Asia · Oct 2022Climate-resilient transport: a conversation with Dr Prathap B RaoIssue 5 of the World Bank-supported CARE for South Asia newsletter. (opens in a new tab)The India Advantage SummitInfrastructure and prop-tech panel, BengaluruDr Prathap B Rao on the stage at the TIA Summit. (opens in a new tab)TEDxLavelleRoad · 2018Fixing the world, one pothole at a timeThe talk that set out the idea behind GridMats. (opens in a new tab)LinkedInFollow GridMats on LinkedInProject updates, site notes and news from the team. (opens in a new tab)
Recognition
Patents, awards and listings, with sources
PCT publication WO/2023/100191“Plastic waste based interlocking grid mat”, published 8 Jun 2023; applicant GroundReality Enterprises.Source: WIPO PATENTSCOPE ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Indian Patent 398992Plastic waste based interlocking grid mat; in force from 1 December 2021 for 20 years.Source: certificates pack ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Urban-heat-island patentFiled 2026.Certificate on request
Urban Mobility India 2023Innovation award, Best Innovative Solution, at the UMI Innovation Challenge.Source: Metro Rail Today ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Solar Decathlon IndiaGridMats® (GroundReality Enterprises) listed as an industry partner.Source: sdichallenge.in ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Shark Tank India, season 3Featured pitch, 2024.Source: Shark Tank India on YouTube ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Hyundai “Be The Better Guy”Road-safety campaign feature, 2024.Source: Autocar India ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Adani Green Talks 2025SDG 9 award.Source: certificates pack ↗ (opens in a new tab)
CII GreenProCertified product, GPGEP277001.Source: certificates pack ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Climate CollectiveCCF-CIC-003.Certificate on request
Climate Redesign Award 2026Recognised for Breakthrough Climate Innovation. Presented by Climate Collective Foundation at Delhi Climate Innovation Week, February 2026.Source: award plaque ↗ (opens in a new tab)
TGS 2026, IIScIIT Hyderabad research presented, for publication by Springer.Certificate on request
Where it started
PotHoleRaja in the news, 2016–2021
GridMats grew out of PotHoleRaja, the civic pothole-repair movement Dr Prathap B Rao founded in 2016. This is the coverage from those years.
3 Aug 2020The New Indian ExpressPotHoleRaja: Bengaluru organisation filling potholes launches a new initiative (opens in a new tab)20 Jul 2020Your Philanthropy StoryPothole Raja (opens in a new tab)28 Aug 2019The Economic TimesWhen govt fails, citizens get down to work, and succeed (opens in a new tab)17 Oct 2019RealtyNXTRealtyNXT talks exclusively to the founder of PotHoleRaja, Prathap Rao (opens in a new tab)14 Jun 2019The Logical IndianA former Indian Air Force pilot is fixing potholes to make Bengaluru’s roads safer (opens in a new tab)15 Dec 2018Deccan HeraldWhitefield residents fix potholes on their own (opens in a new tab)Dec 2018YourStoryStop blaming, fix potholes yourself: with 4,500 potholes fixed, PotHoleRaja shows how (opens in a new tab)12 Nov 2018Bangalore MirrorA Bengalurean speaks the hole truth (opens in a new tab)2018TEDxLavelleRoadFixing the world, one pothole at a time (opens in a new tab)28 Oct 2017India TodayBengaluru: fed up with potholes, citizens take matters into their own hands (opens in a new tab)4 Oct 2017The Times of IndiaPothole Raja steps in when Palike fails (opens in a new tab)23 Sep 2017Prajavaniರಸ್ತೆ ಗುಂಡಿ ಮುಚ್ಚುವ ಸ್ವಯಂಸೇವೆ (volunteers who fill potholes) (opens in a new tab)7 May 2017The News MinuteMeet Bengaluru’s PotHoleRaja: he wants to fix the city’s roads (opens in a new tab)WIONBengaluru’s “Pothole Raja”: a unique initiative by citizens (opens in a new tab)2016LinkedIn articlePothole menace in Bangalore, by Dr Prathap B Rao (opens in a new tab)
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