Innovation

B:Live, a venture by Arcis Clean Energy, is the brainchild of Samarth Kholkar and Sandeep Mukherjee who wanted to bring about a new wave of sustainable mobility in India and they started with Goa. The company, in a short span of just three months, has managed to make an impact.

It all started in 2016 when as students of Indraprastha Vidyalaya, Aman and Nachiketh presented a project at the regional competition of the Indian Science and Engineering Fair.

From using innovative eco-solutions to create prototypes of green skyscrapers in urban areas to micronutrient testing using a person’s hair, Arunima Sen is making ground-breaking research at both macro and micro levels.

Thanks to this initiative, over four tonnes of waste are diverted from landfills every single day. Other railway stations in India would do well to learn from this example!

Recently, I went on a field trip to Tumakuru with the SELCO foundation, an NGO which is bringing solar energy to the various rural corners of India. Here's what I learnt.

“To minimise the use of petroleum-based plastics, there has been an increase in the research to develop biodegradable packaging materials using natural agro-based polymers.”

“The benefit of using Azolla is that it is locally available and inexpensive. It is cheap and renewable."

“Our organic waste is not a problem and is actually a solution to our energy problem. Social collaborations are very essential in such a scenario. For example, in our society, everyone segregates their own waste."

For a country that contains 14 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world, an air purifier is fast becoming a necessity. Here's an innovative fix.

“If the US can fly 14 to 16 million such rockets every year, then why can’t India reach a margin of over 50 million rockets?"