Innovation

Ali Manikfan from Lakshadweep was honoured with a Padma Shri under the category of ‘Grassroots Innovation’. Here’s his amazing life story.

With a battery range of 110 km and a top speed of 110 kmph, the Earth Energy Evolve R offers a riding experience that is very close to its petrol engine counterparts.

Shantanu Pathak, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur, was always motivated to work in the health-tech sector. But an unfortunate incident of a friend's high-risk pregnancy opened his eyes to the lack of access to quality pregnancy care -- a purpose he dedicated his life to. He is now being supported by the Marico Innovation Foundation to take his work forward.

Sudhir Wagamare spent almost two decades perfecting his expertise in innovating high-end paediatric and neonatal ventilators. It was during his B.Com course that Sudhir realised his potential to become an innovator, breaking the myth that only professional engineers could work on tech-based innovations. He is now being supported by the Marico Innovation Foundation to take his work forward.

Income tax officer Hari Rao is the founder of Agnisumukh, a venture that produces energy-efficient stoves. Today, Agnisumukh designs everything from barbeque cooktops to industrial gas stoves.

The brain behind Bengaluru startup Cydee Technologies, Monica Jha built a sustainable innovation that reduces the number of street lights required for well-lit space, saving energy and money.

Rahul and Neha, residents of Noida have innovated a keychain-sized ECG device named SanketLife. They are now being supported by the Marico Innovation Foundation to take their work forward.

In a bid to help her uncle, who is battling Parkinson's disease, 14-year-old Jui Keskar from Pune has developed the JTremor-3D device, which helps measure tremors in patients and sends the data to the doctors through a Cloud database. This in turn helps the latter prescribe adequate medication. She has won accolades for this endeavor, including the Broadcom-IRIS Grand Award 2020-21 from the Central government

Charu Monga, professor at IIT Guwahati, shares how she created the solar-powered waterproof backpacks ‘Jugnu’, using recycled plastic.

Be it fighting air pollution, providing access to quality healthcare in remote areas or aiding the differently-abled, these individuals have shown extraordinary examples of how ingenuity and altruism can make the world a better place.