Training program at SPJIMR

The 5 day training program from 2nd to 6th Sept was attended by TePP innovators , Network partners and innovation managers, numbering about 40. The senior faculty had prepared their lectures keeping in mind the background of the participtants. The take home for innovators was - taking innovation to market requires a combination of Technology potency and Business advantage.

Biocontrol Strategies for Eco-Friendly Pest Management

Department of Biotechnology in association with the National Informatics Centre has now designed and developed a comprehensive web site on Biocontrol Strategies for Eco-Friendly Pest Management (http://www.dbtbiopesticides.nic.in). The site was inaugurated by the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology on 23^rd June, 2008.

The site provides the information on :

Biocontrol Agents

Botanical and Novel Biopesticides

Research Achievements

Upcoming events

Resource Directory of Scientists, Manufactures, Company List

Ongoing and completed projects so far

Referral Laboratories

Guidelines for Registering Biopesticides

Meetings at BHU

Please follow the link given below for downloding event photographs of 88th TSC meet at IT,BHU, Varanasi:

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/iipcell.bhu/88thTSCMeetAtITBHU/photo#s5238781316930968962

Integrated use of Neem and Sea Algae in eco-freindly management of crop pests

TePP innovator, R.Augustine successfully developed and demonstrated `SEAMIC' which is a combination of Neem kernel extract, Seaweed extract and Potassium Humate. The product was successfully tested on Brinjal, Grape,paddy,groundnut,onion crops.

Training TePP innovators at SPJIMR, Mumbai

TePP, SPJIMR and SINE are organising a 5 day training program to TePP innovators and TUC coordinators from 2nd Sept 2008 to 6th Sept 2008. This is a free service provided by faculty of SPJIMR to TePP. There will also be a trading platform bringing together innovators and family business managers.

TUC coordinators meet on 22nd August 2008

All TePP officials, TePP Screening Committee members and TePP outreach center coordinators meet periodically to share experiences and learning. Next meeting in this series is scheduled on 22nd August at BHU, Varanasi.

Apurv Mishra- young innovator from Orissa

Here is an interesting blog on innovator Apurv Mishra. He is pioneering open innovation movement in his own way and is backed by Intel among others.

Software Institute for Rural Development

Social entrepreneur Bhushan Ambadkar developed software for watershed planning & estimation, which was released by NIRD in Hyderabad. With active support from NABARD, he also developed software for project reports for agribusiness units in Maharashtra . Using this software entrepreneurs can decide on the nature of agri project in their location and submit project reports to banks.
Organisations interested in adopting this software for other states can contact Bhushan: bhushan.ambadkar@sirdpune.com

Brick Making Machine

Grass root innovator J. Meghanathan of Pinayur village in Kancheepauram district developed a brick making machine with support from L-Ramp. Read story in Hindu Business line by Anand Krishnaswamy.

energy from waves

Many innovators show interest in harnessing energy from sea waves. Though the concept is appealing, the engineering challenges are many. See this post on bulge wave anaconda and video.

Areca nut Cleaner Cum Polisher

Peeling of areca nut is one of the labour intensive process. This task is mainly carried out by ladies in the village. Areca nuts are harvested in different methods as well as different ripped conditions of the nut. Green areca nut is harvested after 80 to 90 days of maturity. In one bunch there will be several nuts some are more matured, few are under matured. Usually 10 to 15 % of the harvest will be over matured. Peeling of the over matured is very difficult by hand. Instead of peeling they scrap the outer skin by using sharp knife. This scraped one is usually called as ketta gotu. These scrapped ones are boiled and then dried. After drying these are once again scrapped by using knife and then sorted according to the quality. Market rate for this variety is always 40 to 30 % of the finest variety of the areca nut. Rains during the harvest season will enhance the quantity of the ketta gotu as the processing of the areca nut will be stopped and it will be allowed to over mature and then dried. When these nuts are peeled they will have white coat on the surface and more often outer skin can not be cleaned completely. They need further processing before sending it to the market.
In addition to peeling of the green areca nut peeling of red areca nut also carried out. This task of peeling of red areca nut is very tedious one and complete removal of shell is impossible one. This semi peeled one is further processed in traditional manner and dried. This product is generally called as kettagotu /Gorubulu and goes to the market at nearly ¼ to 1/6th rate of the normal areca nut. This is mainly due to shape and also adherence of the parts of outer shell.
These kettagotu / gorubulu is further processed at market by scrapping individual nut by using knife. This is mainly done by ladies and children. They are paid at Rs. 3.00 per 5 kg and normally one will do about 20 kg in a day.
This problem has been observed by Shylaja Vittala and found that there is need a for mechanization in this part of the process so that value can be added to the areca nut. Developing machine was very difficult one as machine should address following points:
1. Areca nut is delicate one in its dried state and will brakes in to pieces after processed in
mechines.
2. Only outer parts of shell should be removed.
3. weight loss should be minimum
4. Machine applications should be easy so that even it can be handled by the ladies.
Keeping above requirement of the market Dharma Polisher has been developed over a period of three years of R&D. Dharma polisher is addressed all the above requirements and also handling capacities. Product has been test marketed and found good response from the users. The product has been sold in may parts of the chitradurga, shivamoga, arasikere.
For orders contact:
Dharma Technologies, 1st Cross, 60 ft Road, Sapthagiri Extn. (West). Upparahalli main Road, Tumkur, Karnataka- 572 102
: Ph: 0816-2292159, M: +919886737260, E-mail: shylaja_vittala@sify.com

Agriculture information

AgricultureInformation.com is an online community comprising of buyers, sellers and technical experts in agriculture.
Free membership is also availble.

power to the pedal winners

Design 21: Social Design Network announced the top three winners of the Power to the Pedal online design competition this week from 222 entries worldwide. Most popular is the music making bike by Joseph Kim and Jinwook Hwang from Seoul, South Korea.

Prakruti power pedal station

The Energy Conservation Mission Hydeabad was trying to develop a Sustainable Pedal/Solar Model for Rural Lighting, integrating the current day needs of Mobile charging, PDA Maybe a Lap Top, a Fan and Colur TV

The product is now ready. Price-about Rs5,000/-

Interested paries may contcat
C V Rao
Convenor
Energy Conservation Mission
Hyderabad
99490 11955
98480 11955

Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana

An opportunity for students planning to become researchers. Apply for KVPY grants. You can get monthly stipend upto PhD level.Students who represent India in the International Olympiads Physics/Chemistry/Biology /Mathematics/Informatics and Astronomy in 2008 will automatically qualify for KVPY Fellowship provided they complete X/XII Standard Board Examination by 2008 and continue studying in science subjects.

TePP will also encourage such student researchers.

Detailse see;http://www.iisc.ernet.in/kvpy/

Solar Home Energy pack

Mr. Syed Zahed, an entrepreneur in Renewable Energy Technologies, secretary, I.C.W.A (NGO) created a package with the combination of MAGH-I woodgas stove designed by GEO, solar lamps and torch lights with rechargeable batteries and a solar panel called “Solar Home Energy (SHE)” pack. see details at :http://icwapartnergeo.blogspot.com/

Good stove

Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy, Founder and CEO of Geoecology Energy Organisation (GEO) developed a series of low cost, efficient stoves for people using biomass as fuel. See details at :http://www.goodstove.com/

workshop at PSG STEP

TePP Workshop at TUC, PSG-STEP, Coimbatore was organised on 28th March 2008. View of participants can be seen in the picture.

Innovative machine to make surgical bandage

It is payback time to DRDO scientist RA Yadav, who was determined to use his vast knowledge of machines to improve obsolete designs of small sector. Initially he took on the challenge of improving surgical bandage machine with telling affect. The new machine , facilitated under TePP, is now a reality. Take a look at http://www.raymachines.in/index.html

TePP meeting at Technopark

The first time, TePP officials from DSIR & TIFAC, TePP Screening Committee members and TePP outreach center partners had all met together for a two day event. The meetings were held at Technopark, Trivendrum on 5th and 6th February 2008.There was sharing of learning and re dedication to share the dreams of independent innovators of India.

Wind Turbines on roof top

Marquiss Wind Power, based in Folsom, CA, manufactures a unique and patented Ducted Wind Turbine (U. S. Patent Number 7256512) for use in the commercial and industrial building Designed for optimal performance on rooftops.

Another unique design is that of Indian Innovator SasiNarayan, who developed a patented winged vertical axis wind mill.

Composting Toilet kit

Green trust developed a complete composting Kitchen and Toilet system for anyone wanting to reduce their water requirements, eliminate sewage, and build soil quality for gardening. Consists of a manual on worm composting, a collection device (toilet), cover & bedding material (coconut fiber), a worm bin and worms.
Build your own from the descriptions and parts list, or drop us a line at sspence@green-trust.org

Free Book on Electricity and Electronics

For all innovators working on electricity and electronics, this free book is a boon. Do not miss,learn fundamentals , they convert yr dream into a reality.
Download from : http://www.historyofelectronics.com/

Charge mobile with peepal leave

Dilip Prakash carried this interesting post in his blog.

Step by Step guide to charge your mobile battery using peepal leaf

1- Open your mobile cover

2- Take out your battery

3- Take two to three fresh leaves of peepal/pipal/ashwattha tree

4- Touch the stub of these leaves on your mobile battery terminal for a minute

5- Clean the mobile battery terminal with the soft cloth

6- Put your battery again in your mobile and switch it on

7- Now you can see the result

8- If required repeat the process with fresh leaves Regards

SME Toolkit

SME Toolkit is a project of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. In India ICICI Bank has tied up with IFC to offer free business management information and training for small businesses / small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on accounting and finance, business planning, human resources (HR), marketing and sales, operations, Tenders information, Business News, Draft Agreements, Legal Notifications and information technology (IT). The SME Toolkit India offers a wide range of how-to articles, business forms, free business software, online training, self-assessment exercises, quizzes, and resources to help entrepreneurs, business owners, and managers in India to start, finance, formalize, and grow their businesses....read on

.

Students club for augmenting innovation

"Students' Club for Augmenting Innovations (SCAI) at grassroots" is a body of students from India's management and technological institutes. National Innovation Foundation (NIF) is encouraging students to set up SCAI chapters at various schools, colleges and universities in order to provide Product Development, Business Development (setting up of ventures), Mentoring and Monitoring support to entrepreneurs/innovators/traditional knowledge holders at grassroots level in the country.

Each educational institution shall have a student coordinator and a faculty coordinator to start with. The student coordinator shall be given the right to select his/her core committee and build up a SCAI chapter for his/her institution. The members may be from the first year or the second year. The student coordinator upon his/her selection/election/nomination will be required to submit a detailed Statement of Purpose (SoP) enlisting his vision for SCAI, expected areas of activities/involvement, learning involved, expectations from NIF, succession plans, skills of entrepreneurship exhibited in past, etc. ....read on

Water filtering tricycle

Google (GOOG), the search giant turned green energy disruptor, has announced the winner in their fatalistically named “Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Challenge,” . Co-sponsored with bicycle-maker Specialized, the contest asked cycling grease monkeys to make “clean” pedal power work in new and innovative ways.

The winner is Team Aquaduct for their water-filtering tricycle that could help solve water quality issues in the developing world. Designed to hold enough water for a family of four, the Aquaduct filters water while the rider pedals. Using a clutch attached to an idler pulley, the rear wheels can be disengaged so that water can be filtered while the bike is stationary. The team of five engineers who designed and built it will be taking home $5,000 and a couple of Specialized bikes as their prize.

A guide to composting Human manure

Hand book prepared by Joseph Jenkins can be downloaded from :
http://www.weblife.org/humanure/
Coverage included micro-husbandry, composting toilets.

Using a biological, low-technology system of thermophilic composting, Jenkins has successfully recycled his own family's organic material for over twenty years. The end product: hygienic, nutrient-rich humus, is used to amend the soils in his food garden. Humanure was the inevitable result of Jenkins' two decades of practical experience with composting and organic gardening paired with extensive research gleaned from scientific journals and texts.

TUC coordinators meet at Trivendrum

Next meeting of TUC coordinators is planned at Technopark, Trivendrum from on 4th & 5th February 2008. Shri Chandrasekharan Nair is coordinating the event. For incubators, this will be continuation of ISBA 2008 conference scheduled on 31st January to 2nd February at the same place.

Contact:

K C Chandrasekharan Nair
Chief Finance Officer &
Programme Co-ordinator, New Initiatives
Technopark
Trivandrum 695 581
Kerala India
Ph: +91-471-2700222 Fax : +91-471-2700171
E-Mail: kccnair@technopark.org
www.technopark.org

Akash Ganga-water from air

TePP received few proposals for developing gadgets to tap humidity in air but did not support any. See this profile of innovator SS Sivakumar who successfully developed one such an innovation without any support from government to produce water from humid air. He is reported to have sold 400 units of air-to-water converters.

interview with Harish Hande

LiveMint interviews Social entrepreneur Harish Hande an Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur product and doctorate degree holder from University of Massachusetts with solar speciality, Hande is the managing director and co-founder of SELCO-India. Recommended reading.

Rural Business Hubs

Ministry of Panchayat Raj invites proposals for setting up Rural Business Hubs. This fund can be accessed for bridging critical gaps in local infrastructure like common facilities / pooling centres for farm products/minor equipment/ connectivity, etc.For raising plantations with long gestation period, labour compensation for preyielding phase can be supported. Ideally suited activities are those where production is decentralised (production by masses). Direct marketing of agri-produce, sourcing of fruit and vegetable, food processing, floriculture, Jatropha / bio-diesel crops, handloom, handicrafts, bio-mass based power generation, etc. can been taken up.

TePP supports innovations and RBH supports technology diffusion. TUCs can apply to set up RBH.
For details:
http://www.rbh.in/home/
http://rbh.in/home/RBH-funding.pdf

contact person:
Shri PK Kesavan, Director Rural Business Hib, Ministry of Panchayat Raj, Room no 126, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Parliament street, New Delhi-110 001, kesavan.pk@nic.in

Best College Project contest

IdeaWicket , an open innovation portal , invites proposals from students to compete for Best College project. Details:
http://www.ideawicket.com/announcement.php

Electrolux 2007 design awards

The competition for sustainable household appliances and solutions attracted interesting designs. The 8 finalists can be seen on Design Lab TV. See Food waste compost, E-wash, Fog Shower, energy saving fridge, solar powered air cleaner, solar food cooker, detergent free dishwasher, plastic decomposer .

Dignity Toilet

Humanitarian International Design Organization(HIDO) International Design Award was granted for their ground-breaking ‘Dignity Toilet’, a portable sanitation solution ideal for refugee camps and developing countries. Cooler Solutions developed this unique design as a part of their focus on sustainable product solutions. The dignity toilet is a solid waste storage and disposal system for locations where a sanitation infrastructure does not exist. It addresses the issues of sanitation compliance, health and personal dignity. The Dignity Toilet provides sanitary storage for solid waste for four people for approximately 7 – 10 days. After that period, the toilet is removed from its dock and taken to a controlled area. It’s then manually augered into the soil where it evacuates its contents, mixes the waste with soil and buries it in the ground for decomposition. Mike lovelss and Terence woodside were the designers from Canada.

Other interesting design is water less self sufficient toilet by Mauro Mufatti of Italy.

Alternate fuel vehicles

TePP receives many proposals for battery operated/ solar operated/ bio fuel operated/ hybrid vehicles. This interview with Darryl Siry gives some insights of the technology-market. Read:
http://venturebeat.com/2007/11/23/how-to-invest-in-alternative-fuel-vehicles/

Wood Gassifier By Addul Aziz

Abdul Azis of Dindigul has been experimenting with biomass gasification and has been supported under TePP to develop an improved gasifier . He succeeded in separating Tar and converting Pyro acid into a combustible gas. Dr L Cyndrilla, Dept of Chemistry, NITT guided the project as expert.

camera mouse for low vision people

The utility innovation `camera mouse for low vision people' developed by Innovator MS Raju was accepted by the market. Orders were received from:

• Christopher Blinden Mission India
• National Association for the Bind
• Omtao Scientific Apparatus
• VA Incorporated USA

CIIE-Solar Innovation Program

CIIE @IIM Ahmedabad has launched Solar Innovation Program with the support
from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Solar Innovation Program attempts to promote out-of-box thinking amongst students
towards solving India's energy problems.
Teams comprising of students and faculty are requested to forward their exciting ideas
on utilizing solar energy problem.
Top three ideas get 4 lakhs of funding for prototyping,
2 months summer internship at IIMA and chance to get incubated at IIMA.
Last date for application is 30th November 2007 .
For further details and application visit
http://ciieindia.org/solarinnovationprog.php

Check List fro TePP applicants

A check list for applicants is placed on TePP pages of DSIR website.
http://www.dsir.gov.in/
Before You Apply - Check
Following this check list will make the application complete.

Technology Angels

Responding to TePP advertisement several experts have come forward to support independent innovators of India. List of Technology Angels on panel of MoST panel (TePP) is now placed on the web page: http://www.dsir.gov.in/

Innovators can approach the technology angels on panel for advice.

Balaji's file tracking system

TePP innovator Balaji Sowmyanarayanan narrates his experiences and plans in an interview with Mutiny.in.

He may soon get his first paying customer.

Business plan compeition on TePP innovations

Metamorphis organised at ISB is a business plan competition with a difference. The bright youngsters have to come with an innovative business plan matching the innovative content of 10 selected TePP innovations. Registration opens on 26th October and closes on 29th.
Want to take the challenge- jump in now.

agripreneurs

Small Farmer's Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) has invited proposals for venture funding in small agri business projects. SFAC also provides grants for preparation of DPR( Detailed Project Reports). Assistance under the scheme will be available to Individuals, Farmers, Producer Groups,
Partnership / Proprietary firms, Self help groups, Companies, agripreneurs, units in agriexport
zones, and Agriculture graduates Individually or in groups.

For details see: http://www.sfacindia.com/index.asp

Samruddhi

RIN’s (Rural Innovations Network) key project ‘Samruddhi’ has won 3^rd prize in “The BiD Challenge India 2007”in Business Start-up category. The Business in Development (BiD) Challenge India 2007 is the Indian chapter of a series of Business Plan competition conducted globally by “Business in Development (BiD) Network”, a Netherlands based foundation that promotes the growth of small and medium enterprise as future vehicle for economic growth.

Flowering Innovation at trec-step

Highlights of some innovations incubated at trec-step have been provided by Sri RMP Jawahar.

Mr. Karthikeyan is a young incubatee entrepreneur who is now working on array digital X ray technology. He is planning to bring down the cost of Digital X Ray machines and C arms, from minimum of Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs, while substantially improving quality and eco-benefits. The quality of results achieved so far, has been greatly appreciated by orthopedics.

Mr. Malaravan is working on Rice Sorter which shall remove coloured (black and brown) rice and improve the price of per kg by Rs 1. Though some Japanese and Korean Machines are available in the market, he is developing a better throughput machine with higher quality sorting. This done by improved design of sorting process by using enhanced PCB Cameras, eliminating multiple processing, high response pneumatic solenoid valve and specially designed nozzles for separating the impurities etc.

The Julie Flora ( Karu Velam in Tamil, Babool Tree in Hindi) is a firewood tree in dry lands across India. After collecting the thicker stems and branches for fire wood, the farmers leave the wastaes which contain thorns and small branches in the land itself which is then burnt openly causing pollution. Now an Engineer Mr.Kannappan and a farmer Mr.Paneerselvam came together and they have designed and fabricated a tractor mounted pulverizer for collecting these cut wastes which is sold to open biomass power plants and open market like hot cakes. The cut wastes have better calorific value since the thorns have higher volatile material and also nearly two thirds of the fire woods wastes have been collected back.

Transforming kinetic energy caused by rumbling machines into electrical energy

Several proposals are received under TePP to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy. Except few cases, most of such proposals were not supported, considering the engineering challenges. It is interesting to note that parallel efforts in UK has brought out commercial product called micro generators. The PMG17 microgenerators are intended for use on machinery driven by AC motors and harvest the commonly-found "twice-line-frequency" vibration. Even with as little as 25mg (RMS) vibration within a 2Hz bandwidth, they will always produce a minimum power of 0.5mW, while delivering up to 40mW when there is more vibration available. Powering wireless sensor nodes is one industrial application.

Design innovation

How complex a design has to be to be accepted as innovative?
See design for bicycle stand.

Top 12 start-up tips

David Cohen has the following tips for start-ups:

The twelve major tips are:

1. Be the best in the world at something.
2. Find and engage great mentors.
3. Listen more than you talk.
4. Accept that your ideas are likely to be wrong.
5. Be picky.
6. Scratch your own itch.
7. Obsess over core metrics.
8. Be tiny.
9. Get it out there.
10. Prove the market.
11. Sprint early and often.
12. Get up from your computer.

Advertisement by VITTBI

TePP Outreach centre -Vellore Institute of Technology-TBI released advertisement in Hindu inviting proposals under TePP.

Innovators meet at Suratkal

TUC, NITK-STEP, Suratkal is organising an one day innovators meet at NITK-STEP on 25th September 2007. Mr. Lakshminarayana, Vice President ( Projects), Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. Mangalore, will inaugurate the camp and deliver inaugural address.

Dr. A.S. Rao, Scientist G, Advisor & Head TePP will brief on the Technicaalities of the TePP Scheme of DSIR and DSIR's initiative in out reaching this scheme through TePP Out Reach Centres spread across the country. Prof. Sandeep Sancheti, Director, NITK will brief the innovators on " Nurturing talent for Innovation at an early stage of one's career developmenmt"

Beware of conman

TePP network had it first encounter with the conman. That cheat impersonating Dr.A.S.Rao called TePP network partners and demanded recharge of his mobiles. His mobile numbers are:
9334064117
9955040953
9899399257
9334899440
9304017249

Beware of the cheats, our country has plenty of them. Do not entertain any requests seeking monetary gain.

Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES)

Young researchers working in teams can participate in this program jointly organised by DBT, FCO,UKTI, TiE and ABLE. The participants will be invited to develop a business plan and bid for funding to commercialise their idea. Contact Shailaja Gupta of DBT at shailaja@dbt.nic.in for details.

Solar bottle

This years Index awards include `solar bottle'.

One sixth of the world's population has no access to safe drinking water, increasing their risk of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever, Hepatitis A and dysentery.When attending an exhibition under the theme “H2O” at Milan's International Furniture Fair, Designers Alberto Meda and Francisco Gomez Paz learned about the SODIS system, a simple, low-cost solution for treating drinking water at a household level. Contaminated water is filled into transparent plastic bottles. When exposed to full sunlight for six hours, the pathogens in the water are destroyed.

Meda and Paz decided to design a container that brings the best out of the SODIS system, and the result is Solar Bottle, which has one transparent face for UV-A + infrared rays collection and one aluminium color to increase the reflections. The high ratio surface/thickness of the low cost four liter container improves the performance of solar disinfection and its flat shape makes it stackable and facilitates storage. A handle makes it possible to regulate the angle for best solar exposition and ensures easy transportation.

Acharya Nagarjuna University

TePP outreach centre was inaugurated at ANU on 27th August 2007. A brief on ANU:

Acharya Nagarjuna University was inaugurated on 11th September 1976 by the then President of India Shri Fakruddin Ali Ahmed. The University caters to the higher educational needs of Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna Districts of Andhra Pradesh. The University has grown by leaps and bounds to the present level due to the efforts of successive Vice-Chancellors. Today Acharya Nagarjuna University is one of the highly acclaimed universities in India. It has more than 375 affiliated colleges, two PG campuses at Nuzvid and Ongole apart from the University campus at Nagarjuna Nagar. It offers about 60 regular courses and about 100 distance education programme. The University has bestowed its attention on development of infrastructure in the recent past and is expanding it to meet the current needs. Many firsts are being created.

Prof V Balamohadas, VC, ANU is the driving force to make his university the nodal center for all innovation activity around the region.

Technology Management for globalising firms

E-Book on `Technology Management for globalising firms' can be downloaded free from Indian Innovators Association, E learning page. Access needs neither registration nor password. The files need Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded free from web.

Metamorphosis at ISB

ISB is organising a Business Plan competition `Metamorphosis'. It will be a different type of competition. Participants are required to create a business plan to exploit opportunities arising from one of 10 such technologies developed by innovators under the TePP scheme. The team adjudged the best will win prize money of Rs 100,000/-. Each of the other five finalist teams will receive prize money of Rs 20,000/- each.

Interested -check details at :http://www.isb.edu/wadhwani/Technologies_products.html

Innovators of North East exhibition 8t to 10th August 2007

An exhibition will be organized at NEDFi-Haat, Ambari, Guwahati from 8 ^th to 10^th August, 07 to showcase the innovations made by the Grassroots Innovators of the North East. The exhibition is being jointly organized by NEDFi, Rural Technology Action Group based in IIT, Guwahati and GIAN-NE. The aim of the exhibition is to create awareness and promote commercialization of the products developed by these innovators. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Sri Pradyut Bordoloi, Hon'ble Minister for Industries & Commerce, Power, Public Enterprises, Govt. of Assam at 12.30 p.m. on 8^th August,07. The exhibition will remain open from 10.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on the other two days.

Innovators of North East

TePP sponsored workshop held at Imphal attracted several innovators and good press coverage. See the article in Chicagotribune.

TePP Prototyping Centers

TePP advt released in all major newspapers invited Designers/ fabricators/ prototype developers to enlist their services to independent innovators of India. See details at www.dsir.gov.in

Technology Angels

TePP advertisement released in all major news papers across the country invited Technical experts to offer their services to independent innovators of India. They will be called `Technology Angels'. Both working and retired experts can offer their services. For details see:
www.dsir.gov.in

TePP Innovation Fund Camp, Sholapur

Next TePP Innovation Fund camp is scheduled at Sholapur on 13th August 2007. Venue is Hotel City Park near Hutatma Chouk. The event is organised by Vidya Deep Foundation, Satara.

IRIS for student innovators

Launched in February 2006; ‘IRIS – Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science’, an Intel-DST-CII initiative, is the merger of two programs the Intel Science Talent Discovery Fair and Steer the Big Idea. It is India’s largest science initiative for students involving Government and private partnership. See news item in Hindu

Innovators workshop cum exhibition of grassroots Technologies, Imphal

TePP sponsored innovators workshop for north east states is scheduled on 27th and 28th July at Imphal. The program is coordinated by GIAN NE. Contact person Natbar Hemam at hemam@nifindia.org. About 50 innovators are expected to participate.

Mission 2007 Rural Incubation Fund

This fund supported by Microsoft invites proposals for ICT based entrepreneurship in rural areas. max support Rs 6 lakhs.Last date 22nd July 2007. For details see http://www.mission2007.in/index_files/ApplicationsForms.htm

TePP advertisement

TePP is releasing advertisement in all major newspapers soliciting proposals from innovators. Copy of this advt can be seen at http://www.dsir.gov.in/

Teenager From Rural Malawi Who Built A Windwill To Power His Home

Meet William Kamkwamba. At age 15 he built a windmill entirely from
scrap parts, generating enough electricity to power his home in rural
Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa. His personal blog
details the steps day-by-day with pics.

http://www.williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/ 

Innovation by bonded labourer

Creative mind is not bonded to some segments of population is once again demonstrated with a socially useful innovation by Balakrishna of Tamilnadu , whose family once worked as bonded labourers. His innovation of power generation using slow moving water has won him many admirers.

See his prototype working at Medahalli near Yellamallappan lake near Bangalore. He made use of sewage water to experiment.

Ashden awards 2007 for sustainable enrgy

This years winners include SELCO,BIOTECH, SKG Sangha from India. SELCO showed the way for diffusion of solar lamps with a sustainable commercial model with over 70,000 installations, mostly by street vendors. BIOTECH showed the way to use food waste thrown into the streets for producing cooking gas, with an installation base of 12,000 domestic plants. SKG Sangha demonstrated utility of bio gas plant slurry as fertiliser by combining the slurry with straw and leaves and then adding worms which re-digest the mixture to produce vermicompost.

Research grants for Sustainable sanitation

IFS/ SIDA invites proposals for sustainable sanitation and grey-water reuse in developing countries. One major component of the global water crisis is the contamination of drinking water supplies with human faeces. The future puts new demands on sanitation solutions as conventional sanitary approaches including the “water based flush sanitation” create serious environmental problems. A promising solution is instead offered through “dry, urine-separating sanitation”. This method is water saving and recycles nutrients back to agriculture, why it is often referred to as ecological sanitation (or “ecosan”).

Sustainable sanitation also includes the reuse of grey-water. Grey-water is identified as the waste water generated in households, excluding the water containing human excreta or urine, but including water from kitchens, bathrooms and washing rooms. Such water can be used as source for additional supplies of water available for irrigation and it often contains the necessary nutrients. In dry regions of the world such waste water is very important, thus treated waste water is already being used for crop production in most peri-urban areas of the developing world.

last date 30th June 2007

Protyping new ideas

For independent innovators located near Tumkur in Karnataka, Vijaya Vittala offers protyping facilities. He converted few innovations of grass root innovators into working, sallable products. Contact:

Mrs Shylaja Vittala
Chief Executive Officer
Dharma Technology
Sanjeevini, Mudala Khodi Palya
Palasandra Village
Tumkur- 572 102
ph: 9886737260(M)
email : shylaja_vittala@sify.com

Making Models with Turning Point kits

A school children's model is the first step in converting idea into a product. Turning point offers MAKIT , using which innovators can create models of mechanism for better understanding of principles. Contact address:


G Venkata Reddy
Managing Partner
Turning Point
#47/1, 3rd Main Road
Bapuji Layout
Near Chandra Layout
Vijayanagar
Bangalore-40
Phone: 9845293360(M)
emai: turningpoint_bangalore@yahoo.com

Indian Innovation Summit

TePP innovators Rajendran, Mohan Kumra, Sreedharan patil, KVKLN Rao, Balaji Sowminarayan, Ajee Kamat and Dr Suthikshn Kumar participated in the Indian Innovation Summit held at Bangalore on 15th & 16th June and displayed their work. Their innovations- Steel melting by exothemic reaction, Hydroponic device, Tem indicating chalks, Sleep apnea correcting device, Book tagging device, RVCR technology for IC engines and PC based Oscilloscope- showcasing the creative face of India excited the delegates and several suggestions were given by friends of innovators.

Chinese farmer inventor Wang Heng

Global GIAN was inaugurated by Wang Heng, an outstanding farmer innovator. As a poor & hungry person, it pained him to see people using food grains (beans) to plug the leaks in roofs. With 23 years of efforts, he created a waterproof cement-like material, which becomes solid in six seconds when mixed with water. This material has been widely used in key construction projects, including a Beijing subway station, Beijing-Kowloon railway and the Three Gorges Dam. His waterproof technology was also introduced to other countries such as Bangladesh, the Republic of Korea and Morocco.

Grass root innovators go global

Anil K. Gupta is the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Chair in Entrepreneurship at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, the co-ordinator, SRISTI and Honey Bee Network, and the Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation (India).Honey Bee network has facilitated over last two decades people to people learning to learn from existing solutions and explore collaborative solutions to the ones not solved as yet. These grassroots innovations developed by common people unaided from outside, can extend the frontiers of science in some cases and make new applications apparent which may have been ignored for long.Participants of the International Conference on Global GIAN ( Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network) from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, Canada and America met at Tianjin , May31-2, 2007 to launch an online platform to recognize, respect and reward green grassroots innovators and traditional knowledge holders.

Root Bridge

Recd from Supratik, IITB

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I was recently in a tribal area of Meghalaya, and was completely stunned by the ingenuity of the indigenous people who have "trained" living roots of a species of rubber tree (Ficus elastica, we were told) to form bridges, complete with railings, over small, but fast flowing, mountain streams. In brief, this species of rubber tree has lateral roots that emerge from the trunk (above the ground) and can grow laterally for some distance before hitting the ground. Khasi tibals have been using hollowed out betel nut trunks/branches as guiding channels in which young live roots of the rubber tree (still attached to the trunk) are allowed to grow for years. The channels are used to direct the roots in specific directions across the mountain streams, and also to form railing-like support structures to help a person hold on to when walking on the roots.

Once a few roots have been successfully channelized to grow in the desired direction, it is easy to have other roots grow in the same direction by using the earlier roots as support structures and guides. The process apparently takes 25 to 30 years for a set of roots to cross the river and hit the ground on the other bank, and become strong enough to take the load of a few human beings. So this is indeed testimony to the patience and conviction of the Khasi tribal people -- waiting for 25 to 30 years to build a masterpiece of bio-engineering. Once the bridge is formed, it only grows in strength over years, as the roots thicken and further fresh roots join the bridge.

Multipurpose gas stove

Serial innovator Dr A Jagadeesh developed a low cost multipurpose gas stove. See writeup in IEEE.

International conference on Business Incubation, VIT

TePP innovators participated in the exhibition organized by VIT on 22nd & 23rd May 2007. Several delegates from abroad participating in the conference visited the exhibition and showed interest in the creative output of TePP innovators.

India Innovation Summit 15-16, Bangalore

TePP innovators will be participating in the India Innovation Summit to be held at Bangalore on 15th nd 16th June 2007. They will also participate in the exhibition.

Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Small Industries (CGTSI)

Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Small Industries (CGTSI) was set up by GOI and SIDBI.The Guarantee scheme seeks to assure the lender that, in the event of an SSI unit, which availed collateral free credit facilities, failing to discharge its liabilities to the lender, the Guarantee Trust would make good the loss incurred by the lender up to 75 per cent of the credit facility. The scheme is initially confined to guaranteeing of loans extended by all scheduled commercial banks and specified Regional Rural Banks, NSIC, NEDFi, SIDBI, which have entered into an agreement with the Guarantee Trust for the purpose. New as well as existing SSI units engaged in manufacturing activities or in IT and software industry or Small Scale Service & Business (Industry Related) Enterprises (SSSBEs ) are eligible for support.

The top 20 student innovations

I have found this selection by Naveen very interesting. Take a look at these student innovations at Sciencehead.com

Jaathiya Grameena Pragathi Pradarshana

A group of enterprising villagers in and around Karamchedu, in association with the Federation of Farmers Association, Honey Bee, A.P. and National Innovation Foundation, Ahmedabad propose to hold a ‘JAATHIYA GRAMEENA PRAGATHI PRADARSHANA’, the first-of-its-kind in the country being organized at the village level. This exhibition seeks to address a myriad of issues ranging from increasing agricultural yields through the usage of modern implements to the conservation of water, energy and the usage of organic manure. The farmers, rural artisans and occupational groups from different states in the country would participate in this exhibition not only with a view to improve their economic conditions but will also exhibit their talents in order to safeguard and restore the traditional heritage of rural villages. This event is scheduled for a period of 11 days from 24th of May to the 3rd of June, 2007 at Karamchedu village, Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh.Details of the exhibition and programmme schedule can be viewed on www.grameenapragathi.org

Innovation funding camps at Mohali and Baddi

TePP Innovations funding camps are planned at Mohali on 18th May and Baddi on 17th May. These are organised by ERDC, Ambala, Mohali camp will be held at NIPER and Baddi camp at Institute of Engg & Emerging Technologies.
Last month similar camps were held at
Bhopal on April 28, 2007 by Centre for Entrepreneurship Development,
Patna on April 21,2007 by Institute of Entrepreneurship Development,

First Technology Delivery Cente

TePP supported establishment of Technology Delivery Centre at Audisankara College of Engineering & Technology, Gudur, A.P. This centre, first of its kind, is expected to facilitate diffusion of rural innovations by way of demonstration of live models.

Innovations supported

As on end of March 2007, TePP supported 189 innovations under phase-1 and made a beginning in Phase-II funding with support for two. Details available on DSIR web page.

Creativity Institute in India

Working in creativity / innovation zone!
An exclusive institution on Creativity is in the offing. U can contribute to shape it, post yr comments on the blog http://icreative.wordpress.com/

TRICKS 2007

TRICKS 2007 is India's First National Level Junior Robotics Championship scheduled on 29th April 2007 at IIT, Mumbai. About 110 teams are expected to participate from all across the country. Free Robotics workshops (Fundae sessions) are sponsored by TePP as a part of its mission to kindle creativity .

Microwind turbines from Gambarota

Microwind turbines from Gambarota are in the news. The innovator claims that his micro wind turbine developed in conjunction with the University of Hong Kong can be placed on rooftops or apartment balconies yet able to generate as much as 40 percent of a household's energy needs. Interested in buying- read the product description.

The Tech Museum Awards

The Tech Museum Awards were founded to cast a spotlight on innovators around the world who harness technology to profoundly improve the human condition. Awards are given to innovators from around the world who use technology to benefit humanity in the categories of Environment, Economic Development, Education, Health, and Equality. Five innovators called Laureates will share a cash prize of $250,000. Indian innovators are eligible to apply.
One example of Innovation is kickStart a human powered low cost water pump based on simple stair-step mechanism.

Megabucks

Megabucks is an `Annual business and entrepreneurship festival' organised by SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Centre (SIIC) of IIT, Kanpur. SIIC is also TePP outreach centre. The event, this time included a workshop on innovations, attended by grass root innovators, students, faculty and incubating firms. TePP team from Delhi interacted with innovators and visited innovation exhibition. Several TePP supported innovators also participated in the exhibition. The highlight of the workshop is the offer made by Director IIT to all innovators to capitalise on the facilities and capabilities available at IIT.

I Create Inc

I Create has developed a successful Skill Based Entrepreneurship Training Program with Seed Money in partnership with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), New York, which has won several awards for its practical entrepreneurship curriculum. For the past seven years, I Create has trained disadvantaged women and youth to start their own micro and small businesses in India and provided employability skills to thousands of youth. Interested parties can contact info@icreateinc.org

Bio medical waste treatment

Segregation, packaging, transportation,storage, disposal of bio medical waste is covered under rules framed by Central Pollution Control Board. Innovators working in this area may see details at http://www.cpcb.nic.in/bio-medical.htm

Siddaiah Sudarshan

Siddaiah Sudarshan is a serial innovator from Hyderabad. A qualified engineer he has several innovations to offer for potential entrepreneurs. See his web page http://www.prime-project-ideas.com/

new windmill from sasi narayanan

Sasi Narayanan of chennai developed a new design of windmill, which the inventor claims also make a good advertisement medium. The product is offered on license and interested parties can contact innovator at:

SASI. N, 29A St Joseph Garden, Omakkulamedu, Madhavaram, Chennai 600060, India

Ph 9444792946, Email – sasin29a@hotmail.com;sasin29a@yahoo.co.in

Ancient India inventions

A good video on our ancient inventions. See on Pramod blog
http://pramodrane.wordpress.com/2007/03/25/ancient-indian-inventions/

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directory -solar

For all solar appliance innovators- this is an useful link.


http://www.peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Solar

Infosys-Education world Young Acievers awards

Infosys Technologies and Education world instituted young achievers awards in 2006. Applications are now open for 2007. Closing date 15/4/2007. The event is coordinated by ActivityIndia. for details see www.activityindia.com

concise history of Indian patent act

Law office information center gives a concise history of Indian Patent Act. Very useful- read it.

Chinese inventions

When we talk of ancient civilisations and their inventions, great land of China comes first. Read about Chinese inventions in Jun Shan blog.

Ancient Indian Aircraft Technology

Interesting facts out by Krishna prasad in his blog on Ancient Indian Aircraft Technology. Believe it or not, but one must read it. Read his blog and vimanas covered in Hindu wisdom.