On Monday, a bizarre advertisement talking about investing a whopping $500 billion in India was published in the English Daily Times of India by an obscure company named Landomus Group. According to several reports, the Directors of the Group, namely, Pradeep Kumar Satyaprakash, Yashas Pradeep Kumar, Rakshith Gangadhar and Gunashree Pradeep Kumar, are also the movers behind the unheard-of Indian University for Deaf (IUD).
Indian University of Deaf(IUD) is an unknown entity. There is no such organisation on Google Maps and Apple Maps. Even Google Search does not show a University named Indian University of Deaf(IUD). The Search does point to a website www.iudedu.in, but on clicking the link, the opening page welcomes us with an Error 404, a standard HTTP error message code that means the website couldn’t be found on the server.
Curiously, there is not a single person on the internet, who identifies himself or herself as the graduate of the Indian University of Deaf(IUD).
It seems like the website of the obscure University was recently pulled down, given that IANS recently published an article exposing the link between the supposed University and the Landomus Group Directors. As per the article, the aforementioned Landomus Group Directors are listed as the Trustees of the IUD. Even the fifth director of Landomus, Mamatha H.N, is mentioned in the motivation for the IUD, hinting that the university has exclusive links with the Landomus Group.
“Indian University for Deaf (IUD) is India’s first exclusive university for the deaf that provides bilingual education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students along the lines of Gallaudet University. The primary aim is to provide deaf and hard-of-hearing students with the bilingual medium of instruction in Indian Sign Language (ISL) and English,” a report published in the IANS about the unknown University says.
“The University will boast of 100-acre campus with 5 million sqft of state-of-the-art infrastructure with contemporary education programs,” the website further read.
The website says: “Pradeep Kumar Satyaprakash and his wife Mamatha Pradeep Kumar, with a vision to create international standard academic infrastructure for the deaf are coming up with India’s first Bilingual University exclusively for the deaf along the lines of the world renowned Gallaudet University of the US.”
The website boasted of coming up with a 100-acre campus in Indian IT tech hub Bengaluru and claimed of 5 million sqft of best-in-class deaf friendly infrastructure and facilities.
The article quoted Mamatha H.N as saying: “Being a deaf and speech-impaired person by birth, I understand the difficulties faced by the deaf in all stages of their lives. Things that seem to be easy and simple for the rest of the world are a challenge for the deaf community.”
“I can’t stress more on the importance of education in transforming the lives of the deaf and helping them achieve economic independence. Hence, through this university, I would like to educate and empower the deaf community,” it further adds.
LinkedIn profiles of the Landomus Group Directors
One of the Landomus Directors, Yashas Pradeep Kumar, describes himself as a chartered wealth manager and Head of Finance. ofLandomus Realty Ventures Inc. His education profile claims he had the certification called Chartered Wealth Manager from AAFM and it is recognised by the Securities Exchange Board of India(SEBI).
Kumar’s LinkedIn profile also says that he is studied MBA Finance and Marketing from 2011 to 2013 at the RV Institute of Management, Bengaluru.
The LinkedIn profile of Rakshith Gangadhar, another Director at Landomus Group, says he has been working in the current post for 4 years and 4 months, from February 2017. Gangadhar’s education profile mentions he completed his graduation in Telecommunications Engineer in 2014 from the KS Institute of Technology.
The remaining directors of the Landomus Group do not have LinkedIn profiles.
Obscure company Landomus Group appeals to PM to invest USD 500 Billion in India through an ad
On May 24, a strange ad appeared in the English daily Times Of India. The ad space was bought by a company named Landomus Group, and it was an attempt to communicate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ad itself raises a question mark as the group talks about investing USD 500 Billion in India but approached PM Modi via ad rather than using a proper channel.
In the ad copy, the company claimed that it has a concrete plan to make India pandemic free. It reads, “Landomus Realty Ventures Inc., USA, would like to invest USD 500 Billion in Equity as the first phase of investment into the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and Non-NIP projects listed by the Government of India under the India Investment Grid for “Invest India” initiative.”
“Landomus Realty Ventures aims to make India a global destination by supporting the completion of NIP and Non-NIP projects along with investors and developers under the India Investment Grid in sectors such as Energy, Social Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Transport, Food Processing & Agriculture, Water & Sanitation etc. Landomus Group aims to assist the Government in its endeavour to rebuild India and achieve the USD 5 Trillion GDP target. Landomus Group requests you to provide us with an opportunity to contribute to your vision of a New India,” the ad read.
The advertisement published in a newspaper addressing the Prime Minister directly naturally raised eyebrows, given that there well laid out channels for foreign and domestic investors for investments into NIF. The staggering investment of $500 billion also set people back on their heels, considering that India’s currency reserves are slightly less than the amount of investment promised by the Landomus Group in its advertisement.
