seventh awardees summaries
Posthumous Award
Tree climber: a grassroots innovation going global
Late M J Joseph alias Appachan
Kannur, Kerala
M J Joseph had developed a device under the guidance of his father that helps in
climbing coconut or areca nut trees. The palm climber consists of two metal loops that
are meant for holding the legs. A film made on his innovation by Discovery Channel is
very popular on Youtube.com. Recently, both the innovator and his father
unfortunately passed away. NIF facilitated sale of his climber to customers in USA,
Maldives, Thailand, Australia, Brazil, Mexico etc. His widow and brother are still
continuing with the production of the climbers. Some of the state and other agencies
copied it without any benefit sharing. Given the increasing labour constraints, its social
value has much increased over time.
Multi purpose processing machine
Dharamveer Kamboj
Yamuna Nagar, Haryana
Extraction of juice/pulp, essential oils, etc., from various edible and non edible fruits
and herbs is an essential requirement of Food and Pharma Industry. This multipurpose
portable processing machine works on a single phase motor and is useful for processing
various fruits, herbs and seeds. It also works as big pressure cooker with temperature
control and auto cut-off facility. One can extract essential oils and ce and other
components from flowers and medicinal plants. It is available in two models with juice
extraction capacity of 50 kg/hr and 150 kg/hr of fruits/herbs. Itcan be used for
processing Aloe vera, mango, amla, tulsi, aswagandha, satavar, other herbs, flowers like
rose, chameli, lavender etc. Farmers find it very useful for in situ value addition in their
produce thereby ensuring better returns. Dharamveer has sold more than 150 machines
in different parts of the country.
Bamboo splint making machine
Paresh Panchal
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Bamboo sticks are major raw materials used in the Agarbatti industry. For making
incense stick, electric high capacity machines suitable for industries are available but
not smaller powered machines for the rural poor who use knife for the purpose.
Paresh has developed a set of two machines, one for stripping the bamboo pieces and
second for making incense sticks out of them.. The capacity is about 30 kg/day (2000
sticks of 2 mm thickness per kg). The blade life is about 10000 kg sticks (10-12 months).
Both the machines are easy to operate & maintain, and most suitable for rural areas. He
has both manual and powered versions.
Bamboo stripper cum splinter
Lalbiakzuala Ralte & Lalpiangliana Sailo
Aizawl, Mizoram
Bamboo splint making has been done manually for years using knives, which is a very
tedious, time consuming and risky method. Ralte and Sailo have developed a manual
machine that can slice bamboo strips and also make splints from the strips. About 50 of
these strips of 1.2 mm thickness are stacked together and loaded on to the machine
vertically. Using this machine, a person can make approximately 5000 splints of the
same thinness per hour.
Tractor operated reaper windrower with reel
Bhagwan Singh Dangi
Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh
Many times, in a standing crop, soybean pods shatter due to non-availability of
labourers for harvesting the crop in time, leading to reduced yield and loss. To address
this problem, Bhagwan Singh developed a reaper windrower machine. He developed a
self propelled reaper windrower in 2005, which he later modified into a front mounted
attachment for tractor with the support of NIF.
In this machine windrowing unit facilitates gathering of harvested crop at the center of
the machine. It has a cutting width 2.25 m and field capacity of 0.35 ha (at forward
speed 1.93 -2.10 km/h). As per the tests in Soybean crop at CIAE (ICAR) Bhopal, the
harvesting losses have been found to be quite low at 1.04% with negligible uncut losses.
Serial Innovator: Walnut cracker, walnut peeler, tree cum pole climber and others
Mushtaq Ahmad Dar
Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir
Manual peeling and cracking of walnuts involves a lot of time and drudgery. The sap of
green walnut skin burns hands and stains clothes as well. Mushtaq has come up with a
walnut peeler for green walnuts and cracking machine to process dry walnuts of
various sizes, shapes and thickness to crack them open without damaging the fruit
inside. The cracker can process approximately 80 kg of walnuts/h with an efficiency of
about 85% while the peeler has a capacity of 70 kg of green walnuts/h.
His tree cum pole climber is a small portable device that makes climbing trees/poles
simple and easy. It uses body weight to lock the climbing steps and is very light, low
cost and easy to maintain. The technology was also licensed to an entrepreneur in
Ahmedabad (India Innovatix), who has come up with an improved version of the pole
climber in consultation with Mushtaq.
Serial Innovator: Natural water cooler, auto air kick pump, auto compression sprayer
and others
Arvindbhai Patel
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Arvindbhai Patel is a serial innovator and has come up with a number of innovations, a
few of which have also been licensed multiple times. The natural water cooler is a low
cost, energy efficient, environment friendly device based on the principle of heat
exchange. Evaporative cooling depends upon the external temperature and humidity..
The cooler has been tested by SPRERI (MNRE Approved Test Laboratory) and is
available in different capacities (upto 150 lit).
He has also developed an auto air kick pump, which is a device to inflate the tyres of
vehicles having kick or auto start mechanism. The pressure generated inside the
compressor is utilized for filling the air in the tube with the help of this auto air pump.
His auto compression sprayer makes use of the body movements while walking to
oscillate a dead weight attached to the sprayer. This builds sufficient pressure for
spraying pesticides. He has developed an innovative tongs for household use too.
Serial Innovator: Windmill, modified stove and others
Bharatbhai Agrawat
Junagadh, Gujarat
Bharat started helping his father in repairing agriculture implements since he was in 6th
standard. He has built many devices including an innovative windmill for lifting water
from wells, a 5 HP power tiller cum tractor, a lemon cutter, cactus fruit collector among
others. The windmill uses single acting and double acting reciprocating pumps
depending on discharge requirement and can pump out 2000-2200 liters of water per
hour. The modified stove has three different chambers to maximize the utilization of the
heat of combustion of the fuel. He has also been working on compressed air system for
pumping ground water and power generation through windmill.
Serial Innovator: Geared rickshaw, E-bicycle, bicycle that speeds up after bumps and
others
Kanak Das
Morigaon, Assam
Conventional rickshaw is difficult to pull over inclined terrain. Kanak Das has modified
the conventional cycle rickshaw by incorporating a gear, making it easier to pull. The
gear shift is more easily enabled by a clutch mechanism compared to the earlier geared
rickshaw. He has earlier been recognized for modifying a bicycle to move faster on a
bumpy road by harnessing the energy in absorbing shocks. He also developed an E
Bike, where potential energy due to the weight of the rider on a bumpy road is stored in
a battery. This can be used to run the bicycle or for any other task. He has also modified
a power tiller and developed paddy thresher, and has many other technological ideas to
his credit.
Double shuttle loom
Ngangom Nabakumar Singh
Bishnupur, Manipur
Noticing the problems in traditional shuttle loom, Nabakumar thought of improving it
to enhance productivity and reduce labour. His ‘double shuttle loom’ works on the
same principle as that of any other standard manual shuttle loom. However, his loom is
wider with the provision for two sets of warp rolls doubling the output in the same
time. Certain changes in the configuration and the use of ball bearing system have made
this loom easier to operate than other conventional looms.
Manual paddy transplanter
Ranjit Mirig
Sambalpur, Orissa
Facing labour scarcity for transplanting paddy seedlings in the field, Ranjit developed a
paddy transplanter. He developed the first prototype in 1986 and kept on modifying it
till he could develop a successful model in 2008. Facilitated by NIF, the transplanter has
been further modified with the help of IIT Kharagpur. Transplanting five rows in a go,
the machine has a field capacity of 0.3 acre/h and requires two persons for its
operation.
Mobile groundnut thresher cum collector
Mohanbhai Savjibhai Patel
Surendranagar, Gujarat
After digging, the harvested groundnut crop is left to dry in the field. Using
conventional threshers, a lot of manpower is needed to collect the harvested groundnut
crop at one location. Mohanbhai suffered losses due to the inability to collect the
already dug up pods in time, given scarcity of labour. To overcome these problems, he
developed a tractor mounted PTO powered mobile thresher, which has a separate
chamber for collection of groundnut pods and stalk. Six persons are required for
threshing four tons of crop in a day using this machine as compared to 20-22 persons
for threshing using conventional machines.
Fuel efficient water heater
Durlabh Singh Puri
Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Living in a cold hilly area, Durlabh Singh had a conventional hamam, or water-heater,
which used wood as fuel. He observed the wastage of heat in conventional hamams and
came with his improved version. His water heater uses the radiated heat and smoke to
heat additional water to different temperatures. The water then can be drained out
through multiple outlets. The thermal efficiency of this water heater is 58 % as against
38.5 % in conventional hamams with the CO/CO2 ratio (0.035) being within the
prescribed safety limit (0.040).
Paddy husk fueled stove
Ashok Thakur
East Champaran, Bihar
Ashok observed in his area that a large amount of paddy husk was discarded as an
agricultural waste. He modified a common stove using wood dust as fuel for using
paddy husk instead. The stove weighs about four kilograms and consumes one
kilogram of paddy husk in an hour. TERI University during tests found its thermal
efficiency to be 23% in cold & hot start and 32% during simmering. Over 400 paddy
husk stoves have been sold locally.
Innovative printer head for golden embossing
Ravindra Ganpat Chopade
Mumbai, Maharashtra
With increasing work load, Ravindra started searching for alternatives to conventional
punching type method for golden embossing on student thesis and project reports.
Failing to find any such machine in the market, he decided to develop one of his own.
His machine is a XY plotter with a modified soldering iron as the writing head. Located
near IIT Mumbai, he decorates the work of techies and that’s how NIF discovered him.
Formal system may become more open if every technology institute starts discovering
creative people in their hinterland.
Tender coconut breaking cum coconut water cooling machine
Mahadeviah Vinod
Bangalore, Karnataka
The innovator has developed a machine that breaks a tender coconut, draws out its
water and cools it instantaneously. The cutter has been customized for cracking the
coconut. The coconut water passes the cooler through the collecting tray and passing
through ice covered pipes gets cooled to about 14-15 degree C. At its maximum
capacity, the machine can cool about 400 glasses (200 ml) of coconut water.
Fish Dryer
Devan Singh
Imphal West, Manipur
Traditional sun-drying of fish is a time consuming process where the fish needs to be
protected from animals while drying as well. The innovator has developed a closed
vessel dryer that dries the fish uniformly in a significantly lower time than the
traditional method. The dryer uses charcoal and paddy husk as fuel and is available in
three models with capacities ranging between 3-10 kg/h.
Extremely Low cost remote control for electric switches
Bommagani Mallesh
Nalagonda, Andhra Pradesh
Mallesh has made a remote device to operate electric switches to help his old mother
who was incapable of getting up to do the same. In the present model of his remote,
five electric switches can be operated. Using the remote one can also regulate the speed
of the fan. While similar switches may be available in the market, Mallesh sells them at
an extremely affordable cost.
Natural non stick pan (Hariyali Handi)
Dhanuka and Bhil Community
Parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
To provide non-stick coating on their clay utensils, traditionally these communities
have been using naturally available lac obtained from the secretion of an insect Laccifer
lacca, growing on the Pohim tree. Lac generally contains resins (70-80%), sugars,
proteins and soluble salts (2-4%), wax (4 -6%) and other extraneous matter (9-14 %).
Scientific evidence proves that it is non-toxic. The innovation lies in the selection of a
particular kind of lac and the process of applying it on the clay surface using natural
binding agents.
Electric loom for manufacturing bandages
Salam Rajesh Kumar Singh
Imphal, Manipur
Rajesh has been running a bandage manufacturing unit since 1999. With increasing
demand, it became difficult for him to meet it due to shortage of skilled weavers for his
eight semi-automatic looms. He then developed an automatic handloom by modifying
manual one and incorporating a half HP single-phase motor. The machine has
provision to vary shuttle speeds depending on the type of cloth being weaved.
Auto rickshaw suitable for lower limb physically challenged
K. S. Sudheer
Thrissur, Kerala
Sudheer has a physically challenged friend who lost his lower limbs in an accident. To
help his friend earn his livelihood, he modified an auto rickshaw so that it can be
controlled using hands only. He has attached the brake assembly to the steering handle
using a hydraulic cylinder. The brakes are applied by pressing the steering handle of
the auto rickshaw downwards. This innovation many help many more physically
challenged people to be self-reliant.
Modified knapsack sprayer
Mohan Muktaji Lamb
Beed, Maharashtra
Mohan observed that many of the existing sprayers are difficult to operate due to
fatigue which sets in early and poor efficiency due to frequent nozzle blockage. The
pressure also dropped after short spell of use. He has made certain modifications in the
knapsack sprayer, which include changes in pressure reservoir, resulting in higher
pressure and the provision of changing the stroke length for varying the delivery rate.
Two booms can be attached to his sprayer, which can cover 1 ha/7 hr with a single
nozzle and over 1 ha/ 5 hr with both the nozzles.
Tractor operated groundnut digger
Sanjay Kumar D Tilwa
Rajkot, Gujarat
The innovator saw people facing labour scarcity during groundnut harvesting, which
itself was a tedious job. He developed a tractor mounted groundnut digger. It also has a
telescopic propeller shaft suitable for tractors of 35 HP and above, with a field capacity
of 0.4 acre/ hour.
Power tiller operated turmeric harvester
P Ramaraju
Erode, Tamil Nadu
Ramaraju noticed that in his area, people faced acute labour shortage during harvesting
season of turmeric rhizomes. Delay in harvesting resulted in loss of yield and adversely
affected the quality of rhizomes. He tried an available machine and attached it to a
power tiller for harvesting turmeric. But he could only obtain about 50 per cent
efficiency then. He continued with his experiments and developed a prototype with
field capacity of about 0.2 acre per hour and claimed efficiency of over 95 per cent. A
local firm has been selling his machine (over 200 units sold) paying a royalty to him.
Multi angle power weeder
P R Nadaraj
Erode, Tamil Nadu
While developing the weeder, Nadaraj used to experiment with different arrangement
of blades to observe the nature of soil turning.. He finally designed the multi angle
weeder suitable for crops at different growth stage. It is a self propelled diesel engine
operated weeder having L-shaped blades arranged in a spiral configuration. It can be
adapted to weeding at different growth stages of the plants.
Soil scrapper cum loader
Resham Singh Virdi
Hanumangarh, Rajasthan
Uneven agricultural land is difficult to sow and manage. The innovator was
approached by a farmer to develop a land leveling machine, like the JCB machine. After
a continuous effort of many years, Resham Singh succeeded in making this machine,
which could not only level the land but also fill tractor trailers with soil. His machine is
a tractor (>50 hp) PTO operated machine with cutting depth of 10 cm and width of 120
cm. It takes about two minutes to fill a 11 ft x 6 ft x 2.25 ft size trailer consuming about
5-6 liters of fuel per hour. He has already sold about 40 such machines.
Black pepper plucking tool
Pratheesh C
Palakkad, Kerala
Pepper is either plucked manually or using a regular nipper. A nipper drops the pepper
on the ground while manual plucking damages the pepper. Pratheesh developed a
plucking tool with a triangular cup below the blades to hold the cut pepper bunch. It is
a simple adaptive tool but improves efficiency without affecting quality of the
harvested pepper.
Raking machine for poultry farms
Sureshbhai Narotambhai Patel
Valsad, Gujarat
Raking is necessary to keep poultry in good health. However, scarcity of labour makes
manual raking difficult. To overcome this constraint, he developed a 1 hp single phase
motor operated raking machine, which can cover 15,000 sq-ft per hour employing two
persons.
Wind mill for house-hold power generation
C. M. Subramanian
Namakkal, Tamil Nadu
As his new house was far away from existing electrical lines, the electricity board asked
Subramanium to deposit a certain amount towards the cost of electric poles. Since it
was beyond his capacity, he gave up the idea of obtaining an electric connection from
the electricity board. He then started working on a low cost windmill to meet his
household energy needs. It costed him about Rs 70, 000 to develop this windmill. It can
be installed near the house or on the roof with a RCC foundation and produces 0.8-1.2
kVA (80 volt @ 10-15 A) electric power at a wind speed of 3-3.5 m/s. The turbine blades
can also be stopped from rotation or the direction of rotation can be reversed from
ground itself by electric brakes.
‘Chinnar-20’- An improved drought tolerant paddy variety
Smt. Ariyammal and Smt. Pushpam
Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu
Ariyammal, her husband (late Chinnar) and Pushpam used to cultivate ADT-46 paddy
variety where they identified certain plants with a purple colour, good tillering and
finer grains. Adopting selection method for production of seeds, they checked the
stability of characters for five years.
This variety is a short duration variety well suited for rain-fed and wetland cultivation.
The variety is drought tolerant with high yielding capacity. The plants have purple
pigmented leaves and culm hence weed removal is easy (this use of purple paddy
plants for weed removal is well known traditional knowledge). The grains are fine and
long with good cooking quality. It is being cultivated by about 50 farmers over 150 acres
of land in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts of Tamil Nadu.
‘Patchakai’- an improved cardamom variety
L. Ramaiah
Theni, Tamil Nadu
During harvesting cardamom in his field, Ramaiah observed parrot green, large sized
capsules. He harvested them separately and grew them the next year. After a few years,
he identified a clump having large number of bold sized capsules and good growth
habit. He started propagating suckers of these selected plants. The variety is a high
yielding one (2000kg/ha-dry) where the capsules are exceptionally green in colour and
bold in size, fetching premium price. This drought tolerant variety is most suitable for
low elevation areas of Tamil Nadu.
Improved variety of carrot (Laxmangarh Selection)
Smt. Santosh Pachar
Sikar, Rajasthan
The carrot variety has been developed by Smt Pachar adopting the root-to-seed method
of planting. The criteria of selection of carrots for seed production were long rootlength,
sweetness, vermilion color and softness. The variety is well adapted to high
temperature. The length of carrot is up to 1.5 ft with the percentage of forked roots
being quite less. It is sweet in taste and fetches high market price due to its quality.
Herbal preparation for controlling borer in vegetable crops
Jokhu Shah
East Champaran, Bihar
Jokhu Shah uses fermented extract of two local plants (name withheld for IP reasons)
for controlling shoot and fruit borer in vegetable crops. In the validation tests, the
formulation was found to reduce the population of the borer (Helicoverpa armigera) by 38
per cent and that of mealy bug by 52 per cent as compared to the untreated control. It
also showed moderate larvicidal effect against the larvae of borers (Spodoptera litura and
H. armigera).
Herbal preparation for controlling insects and pests in paddy crop
Madhav Lal Shav
East Champaran, Bihar
Madhav Lal uses the extract of the leaves of a local plant (name withheld for IP reasons)
to control insects in vegetables, pulses and paddy. In the validation tests, the
formulation was found to reduce the plant hopper population by 42 per cent and leaf
folder population by 24 per cent as compared to the untreated control. The herbal
preparation had a moderate larvicidal effect against borers (Spodoptera litura and
Helicoverpa armigera) in lab trials.
Herbal preparation for controlling pests in paddy, bajra and vegetable crops
Kodarji Kaluji Pagi
Panchmahal, Gujarat
Kodarji uses the leaves of a local plant (name withheld for IP reasons) with the leaves of
Azadirachta indica (Neem) for effective pest control in paddy, bajra and vegetable crops.
A reduction in the larval population was observed after 48 hours of spray. A reduction
in fruit damage/plant as compared to the untreated control was also noted. The use of
the formulation also effectively reduced the fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)
population and was effective in controlling the leaf folder (C. medinalis) of paddy. The
effect against borers (Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera) was found to be
moderate in lab conditions.
Herbal preparation for controlling insects and pests in paddy crop
Raghunath Prasad Nirala
West Champaran, Bihar
Raghunath Prasad effectively controls Gundhi bug (Leptocorisa acuta), leaf hopper and
other pests in paddy using extract of a local plant and ash of a part of another plant
(names withheld for IP reasons). A reduction of 31% in leaf hopper and 55% in larval
(H. armigera and Earias vittella) population was observed in the validation test as
compared to untreated control. Also, the fruit damage in Okra was reduced by 53% as
compared to the untreated control. The herbal preparation helped in controlling the leaf
folder (C. medinalis) of paddy by about 34% compared to the untreated one. The herbal
preparation was also found to have moderate larvicidal effect in the lab against the
larvae (Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera) .
Herbal preparation for controlling insects and pests (leaf folder and stem borer) in
paddy
Vijay Prasad
Hazaribag, Jharkhand
Vijay Prasad uses the leaves of three local plants (names withheld for IP reasons) to
control insect-pests in paddy crop. A 37% reduction in the population of leaf hoppers
was observed as compared to the untreated control in Okra. The formulation was
effective in reducing the population of larvae (77%) and fruit damage by 53 % at
farmer’s dose. The leaf folder (C. medinalis) of paddy was controlled up to 54.0%
compared to the untreated one.
Herbal preparation for controlling leaf folder in paddy and fruit borer in vegetable
crops
Rajesh Mishra
East Champaran, Bihar
Rajesh uses crude leaf extract of a local plant (name withheld for IP reasons) and
Azadirachta indica (Neem) for controlling leaf folder in paddy and fruit borer in
vegetable crops. The herbal preparation controlled leaf folder (C. medinalis) of paddy by
about 51% compared to the untreated one.
Herbal preparation for controlling nematode, caterpillar and mealy bug in cotton,
brinjal, tomato and pigeon pea
G Chandrashekhar
Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
Chandrashekhar uses coconut oil extract of fruits and flowers of a local plant (name
withheld for IP reasons) to control nematode, gram caterpillar and mealy bug in cotton,
brinjal, tomato and pigeon pea. The formulation helped in controlling borer- H. armigera
and mealy bugs significantly in the field conditions. The preparation was also effective
against nematode (egg hatching) under in vitro conditions. The herbal preparation
tested at SRISTI lab showed moderate larvicidal effect on borers (Spodoptera litura and
Helicoverpa armigera) larvae under in vitro conditions.
Herbal yield enhancer
Tulsyabhai Somabhai Pavar
Dang, Gujarat
Tulsyabhai uses young aerial roots of a plant (name withheld for IP reasons) to increase
the crop production. The validation tests demonstrate that the seeds treated with the
extract of the aerial roots germinated more vigorously.
Herbal preparation for controlling insect pests in agricultural crops
KM Chellamuthu Erode, Tamil Nadu
Chellamuthu uses combination of plants (name withheld for IP reasons) for controlling
of insect pests in agricultural crops. The validation test demonstrate significant efficacy
of the herbal formulation against insect pests in different crops.
Herbal medication for promoting poultry health (coccidiosis)
Smt. Oinam Ibetombi Devi, Smt. Sarangthen Dasumati Devi, Smt. Nameirakpam
Sanahambi Devi (Community representatives)
Nambol, Manipur
The healers use a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons), which is ground and
added to bird feed. The medication can be fed to the birds for four to seven days. The
validation tests showed better anticoccidial efficacy in comparison to the untreated
birds and the standard drug Salinomycin (in terms of minimizing intestinal lesion). A
significant reduction in faecal oocyst output was also observed with significant mean
body weight gain in treated group.
Herbal medication for promoting poultry health (coccidiosis)
Sudhakarbhai Kauchabhai Gauli and Jeevalbhai Mavajubhai Gauli
Dang, Gujarat
The healers ground dry leaves of a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons) and
mixed with the bird feed. The test results show that the medication minimizes the
lesions due to Eimeria tenella, a disease causing protozoa for Coccidiosis. The medication
was found to significantly reduce fecal oocyst output confirming its anticoccidial
efficacy with significant body weight gain in treated group.
Herbal medication for bloat in animals
Smt. Yasodaben Srirambhai Chaudhari, Shri Yashwantbhai Bhavanbhai Gauli and
Shri Sudhakarbhai Kauchabhai Gauli
Dang, Gujarat
The local community uses a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons) for curing
animals affected with bloat. The tests indicate enhancement in numbers and the activity
of rumen microflora after the administration of the formulation. The medication was
also found to substantially reduce the gas production/accumulation.
Herbal medication for curing mastitis (bacterial) in animal
Borra Petha Rajanna & N Govindan
Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh & Madurai, Tamil Nadu
The healers apply the paste of a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons) topically
over inflamed udder twice daily two to three days only. The formulation was evaluated
for its efficacy in clinical mastitis caused by gram negative bacterial organisms
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia, and gram positive bacterial organism
Staphylococcus aureus. The clinical conditions were reported to improve after the
medication was administered indicating its therapeutic efficacy.
Herbal medication for curing anestrus in cattle
Khumaji Badaji Kataviya, Badaji Didaji Kataviya, Babubhai Badaji Kataviya
Sabarkantha, Gujarat
The healers administer a part of a local herb (name withheld due to IP reasons) to
animals affected with anestrus. The animal shows signs of estrus in eight days. To
validate the practice, some clinical conditions were identified with signs of flaccid
uterus, smooth ovaries and with no estrus behavior. The clinical cases were
administered medication for four days. The animals resumed estrus cycle in eight days
and got inseminated.
Herbal medication for preventing and curing retention of placenta in animals
Harshadbhai Patel
Anand, Gujarat
Harshadbhai dries and grinds leaves of a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons)
and feeds the dried powder to the cattle directly or with fodder. Twenty animals in
advanced stage of pregnancy were selected where twelve clinical cases were observed
in control group and 8 clinical cases were observed in test group. The average duration
for expulsion of placenta in control animals was 21.58 hours where it was just 4.02
hours in the treated animals.
Students All
Rice grain sorting/cleaning machine
Mohd. Sajid Ansari
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Seeing his mother hassled while cleaning rice every day, Sajid thought of making a
device to help her. This automatic electric machine separates broken rice grains and
other physical impurities from unbroken rice grains. At first, he faced problems while
making the prototype but after some hits and trials, finally he made a working model.
NIF has also engaged designers to improve his prototype.
Crutch with shock absorbers, bell and light
Archana Konwar
Dhemaji, Assam
Troubled seeing her physically challenged friend walking in discomfort using a crutch,
Archana thought of this idea. Her idea is to have a crutch with shock absorbers for the
comfort of the user and also a bell to alert other commuters and a light to be used
during the night. NIF has also engaged designers to improve her prototype.
The Cycl-O-Cleaner: bicycle based cleaner
Riya Kothari, Nimran Kang, Kaamya Sharma & Mehr S. Mehta
New Delhi
The four friends have thought about an idea to have a bicycle with two brooms attached
to the back wheel. The brooms rotate as one pedals and the brushes sweep away the
dust making the drive way clean. The cycle may optionally include an extra dustbin
attached to the front to collect large scraps and pieces of garbage. NIF has also engaged
designers to develop a working prototype.
Recycled composite material made from multi layer film plastic packaging waste
Hetal Vaishnav
Rajkot, Gujarat
By appropriate heat treatment of multilayer film plastic packaging waste, Hetal has
converted it into a composite plastic material. This material can then further be used for
making various articles and sheets with the help of extrusion, injection or compression
moulding. Hetal got this material tested at different laboratories and has also filed a
patent for the same.
System to prevent people from using mobile phones while driving
Divyam Gupta
Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh
In order to prevent people from using mobile phones while driving, Divyam suggests
placing touch sensors on the gear lever and the steering. This means that both the hands
need to be either on the steering wheel or on the steering wheel and the gear lever. If
anytime, the driver’s hand is not on either steering or gear lever (for more than
designated duration), the system will infer that either the driver is using a mobile phone
or not carefully handling the steering. Based on this, the system can take a pre
programmed action. This action may be slowing down the vehicle and bringing it to a
halt after some delay, moving to side by giving indicator or simply giving an alert
alarm to the driver.
Pressure detector for water pipelines
Himala Joshi
Nainital, Uttarakhand
In many places in India, water is supplied for only one or two hours in a day. People
have to keep turning taps on every few minutes to check the water supply. Himala has
thought of a pressure detector fitted in the pipeline. It rings an alarm immediately on
sensing the flow of water, thereby alerting people.
Breathing sensor apparatus to assist physically challenged
Susant Pattnaik
Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
Susant’s system consists of a circuit, which uses changes in breathing patterns to actuate
circuits representing options such as food, water etc. It thus enables
paralyzed/physically challenged people articulate their wish and be self-reliant in
routine activities. The technology has a range of applications like operating a
wheelchair, electronic appliances, prevention of accidents, detecting thefts, etc.
Susant has designed a proof-of-concept electronic circuit of a wheel chair, which can be
navigated through commands given by changing breathing patterns, just like a morse
code.
Travel bags with folding seats
Nisha Chaube
NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh
Who has not faced problem in finding a seat at the railway or bus station! Considering
the problem commuters have to face every day while waiting for buses/trains at
stations, Nisha has suggested incorporating light-weight folding seats in traveling bags
so that the same can be used when needed. NIF has also engaged designers to improve
her prototype.
Hoe cum shovel, foldable water bottle, apple catcher and others
Refaz Ahmad Wani and Ishfaq Ahmad Wani
Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir
Young Refaz and Ishfaq are twin brothers and serial innovators. The brothers have
started a small science club in their house in a small room. They have kept all their
models, certificates etc., there. Among the many things they have developed, prominent
ones are hoe cum shovel to dig and lift soil using this convertible tool; a water bottle,
which you can easily fold after use; an apple catcher (fruit plucker) with clutch operated
blades and a net to catch the cut fruits, and an easy injection breaker.
Healthy air machine
G Brahadees
Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu
Brahadees wanted to make an air machine, which had useful features of both, air
conditioners and fans, and at an affordable cost. He observed that in the case of the air
conditioner, only about 10% of the cooling was being used by person and the rest was
being absorbed by the other articles in the room, which was actually a wastage of
energy. This made him to develop the ‘Healthy Air Machine’ using the concept of spot
cooling. This machine is portable and can be moved around in the house as per
requirement. He has also integrated components like bacterial filters, UV germicidal
lamps and incorporated certain other functions like vacuuming, winnowing etc., in the
same machine.
Foldable & portable multipurpose device
Pankit B Gami & Ekta Patel
Tapi, Gujarat
Pankit and his friend Ekta have came up with an idea for a multipurpose foldable
device as they both found it inconvenient travelling in crowded trains with no reserved
seats. They have come up with a foldable multipurpose device, which can be used as a
chair, table, hammock, mini stairs, easy chair or a stretcher to carry items. They have
made three prototypes of their device. The final prototype was made of stainless steel so
that it would be more durable since it is a portable device.
Tree climber: a grassroots innovation going global
Late M J Joseph alias Appachan
Kannur, Kerala
M J Joseph had developed a device under the guidance of his father that helps in
climbing coconut or areca nut trees. The palm climber consists of two metal loops that
are meant for holding the legs. A film made on his innovation by Discovery Channel is
very popular on Youtube.com. Recently, both the innovator and his father
unfortunately passed away. NIF facilitated sale of his climber to customers in USA,
Maldives, Thailand, Australia, Brazil, Mexico etc. His widow and brother are still
continuing with the production of the climbers. Some of the state and other agencies
copied it without any benefit sharing. Given the increasing labour constraints, its social
value has much increased over time.
Multi purpose processing machine
Dharamveer Kamboj
Yamuna Nagar, Haryana
Extraction of juice/pulp, essential oils, etc., from various edible and non edible fruits
and herbs is an essential requirement of Food and Pharma Industry. This multipurpose
portable processing machine works on a single phase motor and is useful for processing
various fruits, herbs and seeds. It also works as big pressure cooker with temperature
control and auto cut-off facility. One can extract essential oils and ce and other
components from flowers and medicinal plants. It is available in two models with juice
extraction capacity of 50 kg/hr and 150 kg/hr of fruits/herbs. Itcan be used for
processing Aloe vera, mango, amla, tulsi, aswagandha, satavar, other herbs, flowers like
rose, chameli, lavender etc. Farmers find it very useful for in situ value addition in their
produce thereby ensuring better returns. Dharamveer has sold more than 150 machines
in different parts of the country.
Bamboo splint making machine
Paresh Panchal
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Bamboo sticks are major raw materials used in the Agarbatti industry. For making
incense stick, electric high capacity machines suitable for industries are available but
not smaller powered machines for the rural poor who use knife for the purpose.
Paresh has developed a set of two machines, one for stripping the bamboo pieces and
second for making incense sticks out of them.. The capacity is about 30 kg/day (2000
sticks of 2 mm thickness per kg). The blade life is about 10000 kg sticks (10-12 months).
Both the machines are easy to operate & maintain, and most suitable for rural areas. He
has both manual and powered versions.
Bamboo stripper cum splinter
Lalbiakzuala Ralte & Lalpiangliana Sailo
Aizawl, Mizoram
Bamboo splint making has been done manually for years using knives, which is a very
tedious, time consuming and risky method. Ralte and Sailo have developed a manual
machine that can slice bamboo strips and also make splints from the strips. About 50 of
these strips of 1.2 mm thickness are stacked together and loaded on to the machine
vertically. Using this machine, a person can make approximately 5000 splints of the
same thinness per hour.
Tractor operated reaper windrower with reel
Bhagwan Singh Dangi
Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh
Many times, in a standing crop, soybean pods shatter due to non-availability of
labourers for harvesting the crop in time, leading to reduced yield and loss. To address
this problem, Bhagwan Singh developed a reaper windrower machine. He developed a
self propelled reaper windrower in 2005, which he later modified into a front mounted
attachment for tractor with the support of NIF.
In this machine windrowing unit facilitates gathering of harvested crop at the center of
the machine. It has a cutting width 2.25 m and field capacity of 0.35 ha (at forward
speed 1.93 -2.10 km/h). As per the tests in Soybean crop at CIAE (ICAR) Bhopal, the
harvesting losses have been found to be quite low at 1.04% with negligible uncut losses.
Serial Innovator: Walnut cracker, walnut peeler, tree cum pole climber and others
Mushtaq Ahmad Dar
Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir
Manual peeling and cracking of walnuts involves a lot of time and drudgery. The sap of
green walnut skin burns hands and stains clothes as well. Mushtaq has come up with a
walnut peeler for green walnuts and cracking machine to process dry walnuts of
various sizes, shapes and thickness to crack them open without damaging the fruit
inside. The cracker can process approximately 80 kg of walnuts/h with an efficiency of
about 85% while the peeler has a capacity of 70 kg of green walnuts/h.
His tree cum pole climber is a small portable device that makes climbing trees/poles
simple and easy. It uses body weight to lock the climbing steps and is very light, low
cost and easy to maintain. The technology was also licensed to an entrepreneur in
Ahmedabad (India Innovatix), who has come up with an improved version of the pole
climber in consultation with Mushtaq.
Serial Innovator: Natural water cooler, auto air kick pump, auto compression sprayer
and others
Arvindbhai Patel
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Arvindbhai Patel is a serial innovator and has come up with a number of innovations, a
few of which have also been licensed multiple times. The natural water cooler is a low
cost, energy efficient, environment friendly device based on the principle of heat
exchange. Evaporative cooling depends upon the external temperature and humidity..
The cooler has been tested by SPRERI (MNRE Approved Test Laboratory) and is
available in different capacities (upto 150 lit).
He has also developed an auto air kick pump, which is a device to inflate the tyres of
vehicles having kick or auto start mechanism. The pressure generated inside the
compressor is utilized for filling the air in the tube with the help of this auto air pump.
His auto compression sprayer makes use of the body movements while walking to
oscillate a dead weight attached to the sprayer. This builds sufficient pressure for
spraying pesticides. He has developed an innovative tongs for household use too.
Serial Innovator: Windmill, modified stove and others
Bharatbhai Agrawat
Junagadh, Gujarat
Bharat started helping his father in repairing agriculture implements since he was in 6th
standard. He has built many devices including an innovative windmill for lifting water
from wells, a 5 HP power tiller cum tractor, a lemon cutter, cactus fruit collector among
others. The windmill uses single acting and double acting reciprocating pumps
depending on discharge requirement and can pump out 2000-2200 liters of water per
hour. The modified stove has three different chambers to maximize the utilization of the
heat of combustion of the fuel. He has also been working on compressed air system for
pumping ground water and power generation through windmill.
Serial Innovator: Geared rickshaw, E-bicycle, bicycle that speeds up after bumps and
others
Kanak Das
Morigaon, Assam
Conventional rickshaw is difficult to pull over inclined terrain. Kanak Das has modified
the conventional cycle rickshaw by incorporating a gear, making it easier to pull. The
gear shift is more easily enabled by a clutch mechanism compared to the earlier geared
rickshaw. He has earlier been recognized for modifying a bicycle to move faster on a
bumpy road by harnessing the energy in absorbing shocks. He also developed an E
Bike, where potential energy due to the weight of the rider on a bumpy road is stored in
a battery. This can be used to run the bicycle or for any other task. He has also modified
a power tiller and developed paddy thresher, and has many other technological ideas to
his credit.
Double shuttle loom
Ngangom Nabakumar Singh
Bishnupur, Manipur
Noticing the problems in traditional shuttle loom, Nabakumar thought of improving it
to enhance productivity and reduce labour. His ‘double shuttle loom’ works on the
same principle as that of any other standard manual shuttle loom. However, his loom is
wider with the provision for two sets of warp rolls doubling the output in the same
time. Certain changes in the configuration and the use of ball bearing system have made
this loom easier to operate than other conventional looms.
Manual paddy transplanter
Ranjit Mirig
Sambalpur, Orissa
Facing labour scarcity for transplanting paddy seedlings in the field, Ranjit developed a
paddy transplanter. He developed the first prototype in 1986 and kept on modifying it
till he could develop a successful model in 2008. Facilitated by NIF, the transplanter has
been further modified with the help of IIT Kharagpur. Transplanting five rows in a go,
the machine has a field capacity of 0.3 acre/h and requires two persons for its
operation.
Mobile groundnut thresher cum collector
Mohanbhai Savjibhai Patel
Surendranagar, Gujarat
After digging, the harvested groundnut crop is left to dry in the field. Using
conventional threshers, a lot of manpower is needed to collect the harvested groundnut
crop at one location. Mohanbhai suffered losses due to the inability to collect the
already dug up pods in time, given scarcity of labour. To overcome these problems, he
developed a tractor mounted PTO powered mobile thresher, which has a separate
chamber for collection of groundnut pods and stalk. Six persons are required for
threshing four tons of crop in a day using this machine as compared to 20-22 persons
for threshing using conventional machines.
Fuel efficient water heater
Durlabh Singh Puri
Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Living in a cold hilly area, Durlabh Singh had a conventional hamam, or water-heater,
which used wood as fuel. He observed the wastage of heat in conventional hamams and
came with his improved version. His water heater uses the radiated heat and smoke to
heat additional water to different temperatures. The water then can be drained out
through multiple outlets. The thermal efficiency of this water heater is 58 % as against
38.5 % in conventional hamams with the CO/CO2 ratio (0.035) being within the
prescribed safety limit (0.040).
Paddy husk fueled stove
Ashok Thakur
East Champaran, Bihar
Ashok observed in his area that a large amount of paddy husk was discarded as an
agricultural waste. He modified a common stove using wood dust as fuel for using
paddy husk instead. The stove weighs about four kilograms and consumes one
kilogram of paddy husk in an hour. TERI University during tests found its thermal
efficiency to be 23% in cold & hot start and 32% during simmering. Over 400 paddy
husk stoves have been sold locally.
Innovative printer head for golden embossing
Ravindra Ganpat Chopade
Mumbai, Maharashtra
With increasing work load, Ravindra started searching for alternatives to conventional
punching type method for golden embossing on student thesis and project reports.
Failing to find any such machine in the market, he decided to develop one of his own.
His machine is a XY plotter with a modified soldering iron as the writing head. Located
near IIT Mumbai, he decorates the work of techies and that’s how NIF discovered him.
Formal system may become more open if every technology institute starts discovering
creative people in their hinterland.
Tender coconut breaking cum coconut water cooling machine
Mahadeviah Vinod
Bangalore, Karnataka
The innovator has developed a machine that breaks a tender coconut, draws out its
water and cools it instantaneously. The cutter has been customized for cracking the
coconut. The coconut water passes the cooler through the collecting tray and passing
through ice covered pipes gets cooled to about 14-15 degree C. At its maximum
capacity, the machine can cool about 400 glasses (200 ml) of coconut water.
Fish Dryer
Devan Singh
Imphal West, Manipur
Traditional sun-drying of fish is a time consuming process where the fish needs to be
protected from animals while drying as well. The innovator has developed a closed
vessel dryer that dries the fish uniformly in a significantly lower time than the
traditional method. The dryer uses charcoal and paddy husk as fuel and is available in
three models with capacities ranging between 3-10 kg/h.
Extremely Low cost remote control for electric switches
Bommagani Mallesh
Nalagonda, Andhra Pradesh
Mallesh has made a remote device to operate electric switches to help his old mother
who was incapable of getting up to do the same. In the present model of his remote,
five electric switches can be operated. Using the remote one can also regulate the speed
of the fan. While similar switches may be available in the market, Mallesh sells them at
an extremely affordable cost.
Natural non stick pan (Hariyali Handi)
Dhanuka and Bhil Community
Parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
To provide non-stick coating on their clay utensils, traditionally these communities
have been using naturally available lac obtained from the secretion of an insect Laccifer
lacca, growing on the Pohim tree. Lac generally contains resins (70-80%), sugars,
proteins and soluble salts (2-4%), wax (4 -6%) and other extraneous matter (9-14 %).
Scientific evidence proves that it is non-toxic. The innovation lies in the selection of a
particular kind of lac and the process of applying it on the clay surface using natural
binding agents.
Electric loom for manufacturing bandages
Salam Rajesh Kumar Singh
Imphal, Manipur
Rajesh has been running a bandage manufacturing unit since 1999. With increasing
demand, it became difficult for him to meet it due to shortage of skilled weavers for his
eight semi-automatic looms. He then developed an automatic handloom by modifying
manual one and incorporating a half HP single-phase motor. The machine has
provision to vary shuttle speeds depending on the type of cloth being weaved.
Auto rickshaw suitable for lower limb physically challenged
K. S. Sudheer
Thrissur, Kerala
Sudheer has a physically challenged friend who lost his lower limbs in an accident. To
help his friend earn his livelihood, he modified an auto rickshaw so that it can be
controlled using hands only. He has attached the brake assembly to the steering handle
using a hydraulic cylinder. The brakes are applied by pressing the steering handle of
the auto rickshaw downwards. This innovation many help many more physically
challenged people to be self-reliant.
Modified knapsack sprayer
Mohan Muktaji Lamb
Beed, Maharashtra
Mohan observed that many of the existing sprayers are difficult to operate due to
fatigue which sets in early and poor efficiency due to frequent nozzle blockage. The
pressure also dropped after short spell of use. He has made certain modifications in the
knapsack sprayer, which include changes in pressure reservoir, resulting in higher
pressure and the provision of changing the stroke length for varying the delivery rate.
Two booms can be attached to his sprayer, which can cover 1 ha/7 hr with a single
nozzle and over 1 ha/ 5 hr with both the nozzles.
Tractor operated groundnut digger
Sanjay Kumar D Tilwa
Rajkot, Gujarat
The innovator saw people facing labour scarcity during groundnut harvesting, which
itself was a tedious job. He developed a tractor mounted groundnut digger. It also has a
telescopic propeller shaft suitable for tractors of 35 HP and above, with a field capacity
of 0.4 acre/ hour.
Power tiller operated turmeric harvester
P Ramaraju
Erode, Tamil Nadu
Ramaraju noticed that in his area, people faced acute labour shortage during harvesting
season of turmeric rhizomes. Delay in harvesting resulted in loss of yield and adversely
affected the quality of rhizomes. He tried an available machine and attached it to a
power tiller for harvesting turmeric. But he could only obtain about 50 per cent
efficiency then. He continued with his experiments and developed a prototype with
field capacity of about 0.2 acre per hour and claimed efficiency of over 95 per cent. A
local firm has been selling his machine (over 200 units sold) paying a royalty to him.
Multi angle power weeder
P R Nadaraj
Erode, Tamil Nadu
While developing the weeder, Nadaraj used to experiment with different arrangement
of blades to observe the nature of soil turning.. He finally designed the multi angle
weeder suitable for crops at different growth stage. It is a self propelled diesel engine
operated weeder having L-shaped blades arranged in a spiral configuration. It can be
adapted to weeding at different growth stages of the plants.
Soil scrapper cum loader
Resham Singh Virdi
Hanumangarh, Rajasthan
Uneven agricultural land is difficult to sow and manage. The innovator was
approached by a farmer to develop a land leveling machine, like the JCB machine. After
a continuous effort of many years, Resham Singh succeeded in making this machine,
which could not only level the land but also fill tractor trailers with soil. His machine is
a tractor (>50 hp) PTO operated machine with cutting depth of 10 cm and width of 120
cm. It takes about two minutes to fill a 11 ft x 6 ft x 2.25 ft size trailer consuming about
5-6 liters of fuel per hour. He has already sold about 40 such machines.
Black pepper plucking tool
Pratheesh C
Palakkad, Kerala
Pepper is either plucked manually or using a regular nipper. A nipper drops the pepper
on the ground while manual plucking damages the pepper. Pratheesh developed a
plucking tool with a triangular cup below the blades to hold the cut pepper bunch. It is
a simple adaptive tool but improves efficiency without affecting quality of the
harvested pepper.
Raking machine for poultry farms
Sureshbhai Narotambhai Patel
Valsad, Gujarat
Raking is necessary to keep poultry in good health. However, scarcity of labour makes
manual raking difficult. To overcome this constraint, he developed a 1 hp single phase
motor operated raking machine, which can cover 15,000 sq-ft per hour employing two
persons.
Wind mill for house-hold power generation
C. M. Subramanian
Namakkal, Tamil Nadu
As his new house was far away from existing electrical lines, the electricity board asked
Subramanium to deposit a certain amount towards the cost of electric poles. Since it
was beyond his capacity, he gave up the idea of obtaining an electric connection from
the electricity board. He then started working on a low cost windmill to meet his
household energy needs. It costed him about Rs 70, 000 to develop this windmill. It can
be installed near the house or on the roof with a RCC foundation and produces 0.8-1.2
kVA (80 volt @ 10-15 A) electric power at a wind speed of 3-3.5 m/s. The turbine blades
can also be stopped from rotation or the direction of rotation can be reversed from
ground itself by electric brakes.
‘Chinnar-20’- An improved drought tolerant paddy variety
Smt. Ariyammal and Smt. Pushpam
Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu
Ariyammal, her husband (late Chinnar) and Pushpam used to cultivate ADT-46 paddy
variety where they identified certain plants with a purple colour, good tillering and
finer grains. Adopting selection method for production of seeds, they checked the
stability of characters for five years.
This variety is a short duration variety well suited for rain-fed and wetland cultivation.
The variety is drought tolerant with high yielding capacity. The plants have purple
pigmented leaves and culm hence weed removal is easy (this use of purple paddy
plants for weed removal is well known traditional knowledge). The grains are fine and
long with good cooking quality. It is being cultivated by about 50 farmers over 150 acres
of land in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts of Tamil Nadu.
‘Patchakai’- an improved cardamom variety
L. Ramaiah
Theni, Tamil Nadu
During harvesting cardamom in his field, Ramaiah observed parrot green, large sized
capsules. He harvested them separately and grew them the next year. After a few years,
he identified a clump having large number of bold sized capsules and good growth
habit. He started propagating suckers of these selected plants. The variety is a high
yielding one (2000kg/ha-dry) where the capsules are exceptionally green in colour and
bold in size, fetching premium price. This drought tolerant variety is most suitable for
low elevation areas of Tamil Nadu.
Improved variety of carrot (Laxmangarh Selection)
Smt. Santosh Pachar
Sikar, Rajasthan
The carrot variety has been developed by Smt Pachar adopting the root-to-seed method
of planting. The criteria of selection of carrots for seed production were long rootlength,
sweetness, vermilion color and softness. The variety is well adapted to high
temperature. The length of carrot is up to 1.5 ft with the percentage of forked roots
being quite less. It is sweet in taste and fetches high market price due to its quality.
Herbal preparation for controlling borer in vegetable crops
Jokhu Shah
East Champaran, Bihar
Jokhu Shah uses fermented extract of two local plants (name withheld for IP reasons)
for controlling shoot and fruit borer in vegetable crops. In the validation tests, the
formulation was found to reduce the population of the borer (Helicoverpa armigera) by 38
per cent and that of mealy bug by 52 per cent as compared to the untreated control. It
also showed moderate larvicidal effect against the larvae of borers (Spodoptera litura and
H. armigera).
Herbal preparation for controlling insects and pests in paddy crop
Madhav Lal Shav
East Champaran, Bihar
Madhav Lal uses the extract of the leaves of a local plant (name withheld for IP reasons)
to control insects in vegetables, pulses and paddy. In the validation tests, the
formulation was found to reduce the plant hopper population by 42 per cent and leaf
folder population by 24 per cent as compared to the untreated control. The herbal
preparation had a moderate larvicidal effect against borers (Spodoptera litura and
Helicoverpa armigera) in lab trials.
Herbal preparation for controlling pests in paddy, bajra and vegetable crops
Kodarji Kaluji Pagi
Panchmahal, Gujarat
Kodarji uses the leaves of a local plant (name withheld for IP reasons) with the leaves of
Azadirachta indica (Neem) for effective pest control in paddy, bajra and vegetable crops.
A reduction in the larval population was observed after 48 hours of spray. A reduction
in fruit damage/plant as compared to the untreated control was also noted. The use of
the formulation also effectively reduced the fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)
population and was effective in controlling the leaf folder (C. medinalis) of paddy. The
effect against borers (Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera) was found to be
moderate in lab conditions.
Herbal preparation for controlling insects and pests in paddy crop
Raghunath Prasad Nirala
West Champaran, Bihar
Raghunath Prasad effectively controls Gundhi bug (Leptocorisa acuta), leaf hopper and
other pests in paddy using extract of a local plant and ash of a part of another plant
(names withheld for IP reasons). A reduction of 31% in leaf hopper and 55% in larval
(H. armigera and Earias vittella) population was observed in the validation test as
compared to untreated control. Also, the fruit damage in Okra was reduced by 53% as
compared to the untreated control. The herbal preparation helped in controlling the leaf
folder (C. medinalis) of paddy by about 34% compared to the untreated one. The herbal
preparation was also found to have moderate larvicidal effect in the lab against the
larvae (Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera) .
Herbal preparation for controlling insects and pests (leaf folder and stem borer) in
paddy
Vijay Prasad
Hazaribag, Jharkhand
Vijay Prasad uses the leaves of three local plants (names withheld for IP reasons) to
control insect-pests in paddy crop. A 37% reduction in the population of leaf hoppers
was observed as compared to the untreated control in Okra. The formulation was
effective in reducing the population of larvae (77%) and fruit damage by 53 % at
farmer’s dose. The leaf folder (C. medinalis) of paddy was controlled up to 54.0%
compared to the untreated one.
Herbal preparation for controlling leaf folder in paddy and fruit borer in vegetable
crops
Rajesh Mishra
East Champaran, Bihar
Rajesh uses crude leaf extract of a local plant (name withheld for IP reasons) and
Azadirachta indica (Neem) for controlling leaf folder in paddy and fruit borer in
vegetable crops. The herbal preparation controlled leaf folder (C. medinalis) of paddy by
about 51% compared to the untreated one.
Herbal preparation for controlling nematode, caterpillar and mealy bug in cotton,
brinjal, tomato and pigeon pea
G Chandrashekhar
Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
Chandrashekhar uses coconut oil extract of fruits and flowers of a local plant (name
withheld for IP reasons) to control nematode, gram caterpillar and mealy bug in cotton,
brinjal, tomato and pigeon pea. The formulation helped in controlling borer- H. armigera
and mealy bugs significantly in the field conditions. The preparation was also effective
against nematode (egg hatching) under in vitro conditions. The herbal preparation
tested at SRISTI lab showed moderate larvicidal effect on borers (Spodoptera litura and
Helicoverpa armigera) larvae under in vitro conditions.
Herbal yield enhancer
Tulsyabhai Somabhai Pavar
Dang, Gujarat
Tulsyabhai uses young aerial roots of a plant (name withheld for IP reasons) to increase
the crop production. The validation tests demonstrate that the seeds treated with the
extract of the aerial roots germinated more vigorously.
Herbal preparation for controlling insect pests in agricultural crops
KM Chellamuthu Erode, Tamil Nadu
Chellamuthu uses combination of plants (name withheld for IP reasons) for controlling
of insect pests in agricultural crops. The validation test demonstrate significant efficacy
of the herbal formulation against insect pests in different crops.
Herbal medication for promoting poultry health (coccidiosis)
Smt. Oinam Ibetombi Devi, Smt. Sarangthen Dasumati Devi, Smt. Nameirakpam
Sanahambi Devi (Community representatives)
Nambol, Manipur
The healers use a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons), which is ground and
added to bird feed. The medication can be fed to the birds for four to seven days. The
validation tests showed better anticoccidial efficacy in comparison to the untreated
birds and the standard drug Salinomycin (in terms of minimizing intestinal lesion). A
significant reduction in faecal oocyst output was also observed with significant mean
body weight gain in treated group.
Herbal medication for promoting poultry health (coccidiosis)
Sudhakarbhai Kauchabhai Gauli and Jeevalbhai Mavajubhai Gauli
Dang, Gujarat
The healers ground dry leaves of a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons) and
mixed with the bird feed. The test results show that the medication minimizes the
lesions due to Eimeria tenella, a disease causing protozoa for Coccidiosis. The medication
was found to significantly reduce fecal oocyst output confirming its anticoccidial
efficacy with significant body weight gain in treated group.
Herbal medication for bloat in animals
Smt. Yasodaben Srirambhai Chaudhari, Shri Yashwantbhai Bhavanbhai Gauli and
Shri Sudhakarbhai Kauchabhai Gauli
Dang, Gujarat
The local community uses a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons) for curing
animals affected with bloat. The tests indicate enhancement in numbers and the activity
of rumen microflora after the administration of the formulation. The medication was
also found to substantially reduce the gas production/accumulation.
Herbal medication for curing mastitis (bacterial) in animal
Borra Petha Rajanna & N Govindan
Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh & Madurai, Tamil Nadu
The healers apply the paste of a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons) topically
over inflamed udder twice daily two to three days only. The formulation was evaluated
for its efficacy in clinical mastitis caused by gram negative bacterial organisms
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia, and gram positive bacterial organism
Staphylococcus aureus. The clinical conditions were reported to improve after the
medication was administered indicating its therapeutic efficacy.
Herbal medication for curing anestrus in cattle
Khumaji Badaji Kataviya, Badaji Didaji Kataviya, Babubhai Badaji Kataviya
Sabarkantha, Gujarat
The healers administer a part of a local herb (name withheld due to IP reasons) to
animals affected with anestrus. The animal shows signs of estrus in eight days. To
validate the practice, some clinical conditions were identified with signs of flaccid
uterus, smooth ovaries and with no estrus behavior. The clinical cases were
administered medication for four days. The animals resumed estrus cycle in eight days
and got inseminated.
Herbal medication for preventing and curing retention of placenta in animals
Harshadbhai Patel
Anand, Gujarat
Harshadbhai dries and grinds leaves of a local plant (name withheld due to IP reasons)
and feeds the dried powder to the cattle directly or with fodder. Twenty animals in
advanced stage of pregnancy were selected where twelve clinical cases were observed
in control group and 8 clinical cases were observed in test group. The average duration
for expulsion of placenta in control animals was 21.58 hours where it was just 4.02
hours in the treated animals.
Students All
Rice grain sorting/cleaning machine
Mohd. Sajid Ansari
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Seeing his mother hassled while cleaning rice every day, Sajid thought of making a
device to help her. This automatic electric machine separates broken rice grains and
other physical impurities from unbroken rice grains. At first, he faced problems while
making the prototype but after some hits and trials, finally he made a working model.
NIF has also engaged designers to improve his prototype.
Crutch with shock absorbers, bell and light
Archana Konwar
Dhemaji, Assam
Troubled seeing her physically challenged friend walking in discomfort using a crutch,
Archana thought of this idea. Her idea is to have a crutch with shock absorbers for the
comfort of the user and also a bell to alert other commuters and a light to be used
during the night. NIF has also engaged designers to improve her prototype.
The Cycl-O-Cleaner: bicycle based cleaner
Riya Kothari, Nimran Kang, Kaamya Sharma & Mehr S. Mehta
New Delhi
The four friends have thought about an idea to have a bicycle with two brooms attached
to the back wheel. The brooms rotate as one pedals and the brushes sweep away the
dust making the drive way clean. The cycle may optionally include an extra dustbin
attached to the front to collect large scraps and pieces of garbage. NIF has also engaged
designers to develop a working prototype.
Recycled composite material made from multi layer film plastic packaging waste
Hetal Vaishnav
Rajkot, Gujarat
By appropriate heat treatment of multilayer film plastic packaging waste, Hetal has
converted it into a composite plastic material. This material can then further be used for
making various articles and sheets with the help of extrusion, injection or compression
moulding. Hetal got this material tested at different laboratories and has also filed a
patent for the same.
System to prevent people from using mobile phones while driving
Divyam Gupta
Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh
In order to prevent people from using mobile phones while driving, Divyam suggests
placing touch sensors on the gear lever and the steering. This means that both the hands
need to be either on the steering wheel or on the steering wheel and the gear lever. If
anytime, the driver’s hand is not on either steering or gear lever (for more than
designated duration), the system will infer that either the driver is using a mobile phone
or not carefully handling the steering. Based on this, the system can take a pre
programmed action. This action may be slowing down the vehicle and bringing it to a
halt after some delay, moving to side by giving indicator or simply giving an alert
alarm to the driver.
Pressure detector for water pipelines
Himala Joshi
Nainital, Uttarakhand
In many places in India, water is supplied for only one or two hours in a day. People
have to keep turning taps on every few minutes to check the water supply. Himala has
thought of a pressure detector fitted in the pipeline. It rings an alarm immediately on
sensing the flow of water, thereby alerting people.
Breathing sensor apparatus to assist physically challenged
Susant Pattnaik
Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
Susant’s system consists of a circuit, which uses changes in breathing patterns to actuate
circuits representing options such as food, water etc. It thus enables
paralyzed/physically challenged people articulate their wish and be self-reliant in
routine activities. The technology has a range of applications like operating a
wheelchair, electronic appliances, prevention of accidents, detecting thefts, etc.
Susant has designed a proof-of-concept electronic circuit of a wheel chair, which can be
navigated through commands given by changing breathing patterns, just like a morse
code.
Travel bags with folding seats
Nisha Chaube
NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh
Who has not faced problem in finding a seat at the railway or bus station! Considering
the problem commuters have to face every day while waiting for buses/trains at
stations, Nisha has suggested incorporating light-weight folding seats in traveling bags
so that the same can be used when needed. NIF has also engaged designers to improve
her prototype.
Hoe cum shovel, foldable water bottle, apple catcher and others
Refaz Ahmad Wani and Ishfaq Ahmad Wani
Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir
Young Refaz and Ishfaq are twin brothers and serial innovators. The brothers have
started a small science club in their house in a small room. They have kept all their
models, certificates etc., there. Among the many things they have developed, prominent
ones are hoe cum shovel to dig and lift soil using this convertible tool; a water bottle,
which you can easily fold after use; an apple catcher (fruit plucker) with clutch operated
blades and a net to catch the cut fruits, and an easy injection breaker.
Healthy air machine
G Brahadees
Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu
Brahadees wanted to make an air machine, which had useful features of both, air
conditioners and fans, and at an affordable cost. He observed that in the case of the air
conditioner, only about 10% of the cooling was being used by person and the rest was
being absorbed by the other articles in the room, which was actually a wastage of
energy. This made him to develop the ‘Healthy Air Machine’ using the concept of spot
cooling. This machine is portable and can be moved around in the house as per
requirement. He has also integrated components like bacterial filters, UV germicidal
lamps and incorporated certain other functions like vacuuming, winnowing etc., in the
same machine.
Foldable & portable multipurpose device
Pankit B Gami & Ekta Patel
Tapi, Gujarat
Pankit and his friend Ekta have came up with an idea for a multipurpose foldable
device as they both found it inconvenient travelling in crowded trains with no reserved
seats. They have come up with a foldable multipurpose device, which can be used as a
chair, table, hammock, mini stairs, easy chair or a stretcher to carry items. They have
made three prototypes of their device. The final prototype was made of stainless steel so
that it would be more durable since it is a portable device.
Nice post !
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