Venkatesh Geriti is an Indian

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...

activist, and

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of ...

. He is the founder of Swatantrata Center and India's Future Foundation, an educational organization in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, and a scholar at Atlas Summit. Venkatesh received the Karmaveer Chakra Award and Global Fellowship Award in 2019 from the International Confederation of Non-Governmental Organizations in partnership with

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. He is a member of the

Centre for Civil Society Centre for Civil Society (CCS) is a non-profit think tank based in New Delhi. The Centre was founded in 1997 by Dr Parth J Shah, former Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. It operates as an independent educational organisatio ...

and an alumnus of

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers ...

., Students For Liberty,

Friedrich Naumann Foundation The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (german: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit) (''FNF''), is a German foundation for liberal politics, related to the Free Democratic Party. Established in 1958 by Theodor Heuss, the first pres ...

Liberty International Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...

Atlas Network Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...

Early life and career

Venkatesh was born into a poor family of farmers in

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most p ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. He was the co-organizer and speaker at Start-Up Europe Week 2017 while he studied international business and development economics in Italy.

Politics

Venkatesh is influenced by

Nagabhairava Jaya Prakash Narayana Jaya Prakash Narayana (born 14 January 1956), is an Indian liberal politician and activist. He is the founder and president of Lok Satta Party. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kukatpally constituency of Andhra Pradesh in ...

and joined

Lok Satta Party Lok Satta is a classical liberal political party in India, founded by Nagabhairava Jaya Prakash Narayana, a former I.A.S. officer and renowned activist from Andhra Pradesh. Since 1996, the Lok Satta Movement functioned as a non-governmental ...

in his student life. Venkatesh actively engages with the European liberal political party Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and

European Liberal Youth European Liberal Youth (abbreviated as LYMEC) is an international organisation of liberal youth movements – mostly the youth wings of members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party but also individual members. LYMEC holds ...

as an Individual member. He did campaign for

More Europe More Europe ( it, Più Europa or ''+Europa''; +E or +Eu) is a liberal and pro-Europeanist political party in Italy, part of the centre-left coalition and member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Its leaders are Emma ...

2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective member ...

and Free Democratic Party (Germany) and Its Youth wing

Young Liberals (Germany) The Young Liberals (german: Junge Liberale, JuLis), is a political youth organisation in Germany. It is the financially and organisationally independent youth wing of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). The JuLis claim about 13,000 members,< ...

2017 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democr ...

and

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peop ...

Activism

Geriti was one of the founders of Youth for Better India, an anti-corruption youth organization that educates and organizes young people for supporting anti-corruption institutions and governance reforms. He was actively involved in the

2011 Indian anti-corruption movement The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic polit ...

in the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

. Venkatesh has represented Indian organizations in various international conferences in countries like the United States, China, Germany, Italy, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nepal. He is a panel member of Liberty International World Conference.

Awards and achievements

* Karmaveer Chakra Award and Global Fellowship Award 2019 by the International Confederation of Non-Governmental Organizations and the United Nations *Delhi Youth Award 2017 by India Youth Foundation *"20 Years and 20 Champions" by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geriti, Venkatesh Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Nellore district Indian anti-corruption activists People from Tirupati