For thirty years, Mohan Kumar stood guard over India's dreams, his uniform carrying the pride of national duty while his heart carried the hopes of his family back in Kollam, Kerala. Each morning reveille reminded him of why he served – for his wife's unwavering faith, for his children's future, for the promise of a better tomorrow.But as his three decades of service drew to a close in October 2022, the battle-hardened Subedar faced an enemy more daunting than any he'd encountered on the field: uncertainty. The structured world of military life, with its familiar rhythms of discipline and duty, was about to give way to the uncharted territory of civilian existence. At forty-nine, standing in the Lucknow AMC Center for his retirement documentation, Mohan Kumar found himself at a crossroads where courage alone wouldn't light the path forward.

Mohan Kumar slowly crafted his new business plan: a fabrication unit in his hometown of Kollam. The project required twenty-seven lakh rupees— a sum he financed through a combination of personal savings (his years of service crystallized into capital) and a loan. His meticulously prepared project report, based on strong foundations of the I Create business planning tools and methodology, helped him secure the loan under the PMEGP Scheme.

He faced the challenges of setting up infrastructure, cash flow and market competition with the thorough knowledge he had acquired from the I Create engagement. Within a year, his persistence bore fruit – a monthly net profit of twenty-two thousand rupees, each rupee representing not just income, but independence.

Today, Mohan Kumar's fabrication unit stands as a beacon of possibility for other veterans. His vision extends beyond profit margins – he dreams of creating a haven where fellow servicemen can find purpose after retirement, their military precision transformed into entrepreneurial excellence. His current workforce is small, but he is planning for expansion, eyeing the territories of construction and real estate development.

His success whispers hope to every serviceperson wondering about life after the uniform. His wife's pride stems from his enterprise, his children's future secured not only by pension but by persistence. In the rhythmic sounds of his fabrication unit, Mohan Kumar hears a different kind of service calling – one that builds not just structures, but opportunities, not just products, but legacies. For in the end, Mohan Kumar S. has proven that a soldier never really retires – he simply finds new ways to serve, new battles to win, and new victories to celebrate.