AL Circle x Jagannath Prasad: Runaya charts 5x growth path, backed by partnerships, tech & green energy
With nearly two decades of rich industry experience, Jagannath Prasad Routray serves as the CEO of Green Aluminium Recovery & Diversified Metal Recovery Businesses. His steadfast dedication to building a greener, empowered, and sustainable future has been the driving force behind the many milestones he has achieved throughout his career. In this interview, He highlighted Runaya’s rapid growth from INR 500 crore in FY24 to a target of INR 2,500 crore by FY28, which is driven by a clear focus on circularity, efficiency, and sustainable practices backed by capital investments, partnerships, in-house technology, and renewable energy. Side by side, Mr Jagannath Prasad also shared his vision of how Runaya’s legacy is proving that Indian manufacturing can be clean, inclusive, and globally relevant, showing that profitability, sustainability, and equity can thrive together.
AL Circle: Runaya has grown impressively, recording INR 500 crore (USD 60 million) in revenue during FY24 and now setting its sights on reaching INR 2,500 crore by FY28. What inspired this bold vision, and what strategic roadmap do you have in place to achieve this ambitious goal?
Jagannath Prasad: Runaya was founded with the intent to build a manufacturing company that delivers sustainable, efficient, and commercially scalable solutions for the metals sector. The performance in FY24 is a result of a clear focus on circularity, operational efficiency, and disciplined execution. The target of INR 2,500 crore by FY28 reflects the confidence we have in our differentiated model and the readiness of the Indian and global markets to adopt such solutions.
We are backing this ambition with significant capital investment, focused on scaling our existing operations, and setting up new verticals. These are complemented by strategic partnerships, in-house technology, and renewable energy-powered operations, ensuring that growth is backed by both capability and capacity.
AL Circle: With women making up 55 per cent of your workforce, Runaya is clearly walking the talk on inclusion. How did this focus on diversity come about, and what impact has it had on your workplace culture?
Jagannath Prasad: Diversity was never an afterthought at Runaya. We viewed it as essential to building a resilient and high-performing organisation. By bringing women into roles traditionally seen as male-dominated, we have created a workplace that is more collaborative, safety-conscious, and performance-driven. Today, women lead production lines, manage critical operations, and set safety benchmarks in an industry where they were once absent.
Over the past three years, this shift in leadership has reshaped the business, driving tenfold growth, strengthening governance and ethical standards. Women leaders have expanded the range of perspectives at the table, sparking richer ideas and embedding inclusivity into the way we work.
The result is seen not just in numbers but in mindset too, with more agility, better problem-solving, and a workplace grounded in mutual respect and accountability.
AL Circle: What legacy would you like Runaya to leave, not just as a business, but as a force for positive change in the metals and manufacturing world?
Jagannath Prasad: We want Runaya to be seen as a company that proved industrial manufacturing in India can be clean, inclusive, and globally relevant. Our legacy should reflect that we built a profitable business by doing the right thing—recovering metals instead of mining them, empowering women in roles where they’ve been historically absent and creating livelihoods in regions with limited opportunities. We have proved that growth at scale can go hand in hand with sustainability and equity if we can raise industry benchmarks, and inspire more such models across sectors, that would be a legacy worth leaving.
