About 1516

There are 10 crore Telugu people in India.

If we were our own country, we would be the 14th largest nation in the world.

Unfortunately, Telugus are not provided with enough content. Most of the content is from the North and a lot of it does not apply to us.

We don’t have access to clear, actionable information that helps us move forward.

What Telugu Students Truly Need

We need support that helps us:

Understand how government schemes work
Get equivalency certificates without delays
Know which degrees are valid or invalid
Pay less fees and learn how to get exemptions
Access better online services confidently
Write strong, effective representations to universities
Know how to get responses from officials
Learn how to file RTIs and use them powerfully

And most importantly:
We need this in a way that is relevant to us Telugus from AP and TG.

The Genesis of 1516

It all started when Swapna couldn’t get an equivalency certificate from Osmania University.

She held a B.Sc. in Agriculture degree, recognised by the UGC, but officials rejected it because it was not accredited by ICAR.

“Bring something in writing,” they said.

I didn’t know what to do. I started searching.

Eventually, I filed 4 RTIs:

3 to ICAR
1 to UGC

And in one of those RTIs, ICAR itself confirmed:

ICAR accreditation is a voluntary process. If a degree is UGC-approved, it is valid even without ICAR.

📄 Read the full ICAR RTI story here

Armed with that response, we returned to the university and secured the equivalency certificate for admission into LLB.

But What About Everyone Else?

How many students know what an RTI is?
How many know what to write?
How many know that you have a right to ask?

Especially if your parents are not educated, or you come from a rural or disadvantaged background—what do you do?

Most students just give up.

This is why 1516 exists.

What We Do at 1516

1516 is a platform built for Telugu students to gain power through information.
We show you how others did it.
We give you ready tools.
We help you take action—not just watch videos or read blogs.

We also help you with educational questions.
If you’re stuck with something—anything—reach out using this form and we’ll help in any way we can.

We are not just speaking in Telugu.
We are speaking for Telugus.

Who is a Telugu according to 1516?

You’re a Telugu if:

You’re born to two Telugu parents and speak Telugu.
One of your parents is Telugu and you speak Telugu.
You learned Telugu, even if you only speak it.

Note: We kept the bar low to allow more people to learn Telugu and be considered Telugu. Our services are only for Telugus.

All Telugu Students Must Unite

This is a movement.
Not an organisation, not a company.
A movement to make sure that no Telugu student is left behind.

Let us make sure that Telugu students never again feel powerless.
Let us move forward with clarity, with courage, and with community.

Warmly,

Prithvi Raj Kunapareddi
Founder, 1516