INSECT TRAP

Stored grains are prone to several pest infestations some carried over from the field, some air-borne. Dr S Mohan of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore has developed a simple device called 'Insect Trap'. The trap can be inserted in containers, bags of stored cereals and pulses and left for 10 days for best results. Insects have a tendency to move towards air. Hence the wandering insects enter into the perforations in the gadget and get caught in the trapping tube at the bottom. The trapping tube can be unscrewed and the insects can be destroyed. The trap is environment friendly as it does not need any chemicals for stored grains, no battery or electricity required, no side effects and absolutely no maintenance required. The technology has won awards at both the State and the Central level. The technology has been licensed to KSNM Marketing, Coimbatore for manufacturing and marketing throughout India. Mr. C V Madeswaran is the Managing Director of KSNM Marketing. RIN is adding value to the enterprise by developing channel to promote insect trap at the retail and institutional level.

JS MILKER (Manual Milking Device)

The JS Milker is a manual milking device that has the potential to play a pivotal role in contributing to the rural income. It is manufactured and marketed by J Support Industries, a Kerala-based company headed by Mr. Joy John. The JS Milker is a simple vacuum driven device, which can be used to effortlessly draw milk from cows. This portable machine has a vacuum handle, which is used to create the necessary suction power to draw milk out of the udder in the most hygienic and easy manner. The device is also fitted with a vacuum meter to monitor vacuum built. This helps in preventing any damage to the milk nodes of the cows and makes the whole process of milking absolutely simple and safe for the cattle. RIN has provided market development services in Tamilnadu. It is planned to tap the Gujarat market as well. In the course of providing these services, RIN has handheld the sales personnel. Also, RIN has supported product refinement undertaken in response to specific market feedback.

VARSHA RAIN GUN

The Varsha Rain Gun was innovated by Sri Anna Saheb, a 70-year old sugarcane farmer of Sadalga village in Belgaum district of Karnataka. The Rain Gun offers attractive savings of 40-50 per cent in water used for irrigation. Given the nature of the water crisis prevailing in the country, this is the single most important feature of the rain gun technology. Additionally, farmers realize savings in irrigation time, power consumed for irrigation, and labor needed for managing irrigation. Attractive as these savings are, many other benefits add to the technology's merit. Irrigation with the rain gun helps fix atmospheric nitrogen, supports trash mulching and preserves soil health. All this leads to more efficient, profitable and sustainable agriculture. In recognition of its value, the raingun was awarded by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF). RIN provided a range of services to incubate the rain gun. The efforts culminated in the facilitation of a technology transfer agreement between Anna Saheb and Servals Automation Pvt. Ltd., a Chennai-based company that makes and markets the Venus kerosene stove burner. Significantly, the rain gun is also part of the portfolio that attracted the first ever-micro venture investment in India.

SOLAR WATER HARVESTER

Conceived by Sri Deepak Rao of Chennai, the solar water harvester will use solar energy to convert salt water to drinking water. This innovation attempts to use multiple effect solar distillation to convert brackish water into pure drinking water. The technology is in development stage. RIN raised a grant worth Rs. 1.9 lakh from the Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. With this support, RIN mentored the innovator in the process of prototyping and building the prototype.

COCONUT DEHUSKER

Mr. Karrupaiah, of Process Ekuipment, Coimbatore, has developed the coconut-dehusking machine. The machine can dehusk 500-coconuts/ hour of size of dia 120 mm to 250 mm. The machine requires 3 semi-skilled people to operate and achieve the above efficiency. The machine operates on a 1.5 HP single-phase motor, weighs 175 kg and is provided with forward and reverse switch. The machine has set of rollers supported with anti-friction non-corrosive bearings, strippers and is coated to prevent rusting. The dehusked coconut will fall on the left side and the husk on the right side of the operator. The machine's design has been registered with the Patent Office, Chennai. RIN will offer services for Technology Transfer and convert prospects into customers for Coconut Dehuking machine.

Asthma Inhaler:

This innovation was developed by a group of three innovators namely, T A Aparna, TA Anand Vishnu and Dr Vijayan. The first two innovators are students while the third is their father, a medical practitioner.

This inhaler has a smaller air flow tube, with the front air inlet closed by a cover with a hole for slow, deep inhalation. The air inlet leads to an alert giving whistle. The long spray rod of the drug vial with drug(s) in solvent, propellant, enters to air tube and ends in a novel jet spray nozzle at back of mouth piece. A handle for support, helps easy pressing of drug vial on the body. The long mouth piece is kept in the mouth, air is sucked, alert is heard and the drug vial is pressed. The spray is then released for easy flow into wind pipes and lungs for good relief. The inhaler delivers spray at the back of throat and not in the mouth as in existing inhalers, therefore has limited wastage and reliably delivers drugs to the lungs.

A seed funding of Rs 3.5 lakhs (as part of Project L-RAMP) has been provided for incubation of this innovation. During the year, a laboratory test of the innovation was initiated at IIT-Madras which is currently in progress. Initial reports indicate a higher efficiency of drug delivery to the lungs. In the meantime, the innovator has also engaged into active technology transfer discussions with leading pharmaceutical companies. A website of the inhaler has been launched at www.maxhaler.com

Suncon cooker:

This innovation has been developed by Sri NA Vrishabadoss Jain, a retired employee of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The innovator has completed his tenth class and hails from a modest background.

The product claims to reduce the cooking time, thus saving associated fuel costs.

RIN (as a part of Project L-RAMP) has approved a seed funding of Rs 1.4 lakhs for incubation of this innovation.

Fuel + :

The ever increasing number of automobiles poses a major threat to the environment. Besides, the fossil fuels which these vehicles use are non-renewable and it will be a while before technologies based on renewable, energy sources attain market viability. In the meantime, it is important to conserve the fossil fuel sources and make optimum use of them. The device addresses this issue in a small but yet significant way. The direct impact to the users is by way of savings in fuel costs, be it petrol for 2 wheelers or LPG for domestic cooking.

The innovation is a magnetic device which can be fitted on the fuel lines of internal combustion engines and LPG stoves. As the fuel passes through the device it gets subjected to a magnetic field. This improves the combustibility of the fuel. The claimed benefits are a higher fuel efficiency and lower emission of harmful carbon particles, unburned hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen.

This innovation has been developed by Sri. R.Saravanakumaran who holds a diploma in Electronics and Communication and is a private entrepreneur. He also leads an initiative called Olivellam Fuel Conservation Center.

RIN (as a part of Project L-RAMP) has approved a funding of Rs 4.5 lakhs for incubation of this innovation. The core focus of incubation is to address the technical issues related to life of the device and consistency of performance.

Plant Oil stove

Figures indicate that nearly 625 million in India have no access to modern cooking fuels. Modern cooking fuels refer to kerosene, LPG, natural gas and electricity. Traditional fuels such as wood, crop residues, and animal dung still provide for 80-90% of the fuel needs of rural India.  Modern fuels are not affordable for rural India for reasons like high cost, lack of distribution systems, etc. Even though kerosene is subsidized at Rs.9/litre and distributed through the Public Distribution Syste, supply is limited and does not meet the actual needs of a house-hold.

With a growing population and depleting fossil based fuels, plant oil based fuels hold the future. Middle and upper class households move up the energy value chain to kerosene, LPG, natural piped gas and electricity respectively. The poorer classes remain at the bottom with traditional fuels. Hence any alternate source of energy at an affordable cost would certainly help the poor.

The innovation is a stove for cooking purposes that utilizes plant-based oils as fuel. This design, as different from the conventional stove, has a vaporizer with intricate nozzles, where the plant oil is pre-heated before it enters the combustion zone of the burner. The stove has two parts: a compartmentalized container, which stores plant oil in one compartment and kerosene in another, vaporizer with pre-heating mechanism and burner. Kerosene is burnt for some minutes and the flame heats the vaporizer. The flow of kerosene is stopped and that of plant oil is started. As the plant oil enters the pre-heating zone, it vaporizes.  The pre-heated oil comes out of intricate nozzles into the burner, where it burns through a flame holder.

This innovation has been developed by Sri. P.Mukundan, Managing Director of Servals Automation Pvt Ltd. This company is currently engaged in the marketing of an innovative energy efficient kerosene stove “burner”.

RIN (as a part of Project L-RAMP) has approved a funding of Rs 6.5 lakhs for incubation of this innovation. RINs incubation support is primarily targeted at product refinement and field testing. The product refinement is specifically to address the issue of clogging of the stove upon burning of the plant oil for 30 minutes.