MEA, MyGov and NITI Aayog – Action for Innovation garners PM Modi’s Appreciation
In his monthly address to the nation through Mann Ki Baat, Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi mentioned the Economic Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, MyGov and NITI Aayog for successfully hosting a national competition on social innovation. The Prime Minister said, “Socially useful innovations had been invited. These innovations were identified and showcased, and people were being informed about them, along with touching upon such issues as harnessing them for the use by the common people and their mass production and commercial utilization. I saw the volume of remarkable work done in that area”. The winners of this contest were announced on 22nd December 2016 on MyGov (https://blog.mygov.in/final-list-of-shortlisted-social-innovations-ministry-of-external-affairs-niti-aayog-social-innovation-contest/) .
Here is the list of the top 20 innovators (in no order of merit) and their ideas that were selected to initiate a new movement towards social change:-
| Name | Idea |
| Tanmay Sethi | Tanmay Sethi’s Nebula Innovations aims at imparting skill development for farmers such that they can have sustainable livelihoods. MATT has been designed to perform quality testing for all agricultural commodities. This solution will help farmers to get a fair price for their efforts instead of agreeing to buyer’s conditions. MATT results will increase their bargaining power and thereby increase their net earnings. The awardee states that the motivation for MATT was drawn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to establish an open & fair marketplace for farmers through eNAM.
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| Abhinav Sharma | Abhinav Sharma’s initiative, DC WATER WORLD SUPERMART PVT. LTD. aims to minimise wastage of water during the process of purification in an effort to change the current scenario where over 70% to 75% of water is wasted and under-utilised .Through their innovative designs and product, the water generated will be of superior quality, electricity consumed will be remarkably less and more significantly, the wastage of water will be reduced. Abhinav’s initiative comes under National Water Mission and the Make in India mission.
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| Sanjeev Arjun Gaur | Sanjeev Arjun Gaur’s initiative of bringing respite to India’s cycle rickshaw drivers has the potential to change transportation in our country. His product will make cycling drastically easier for rickshaw drivers and ease the stress due to physical labour. The product also aims to create job opportunities. |
| Siddharth Lodha |
Siddharth Lodha’s initiative addresses the problem of unavailability of counselling and lack of information at the grass-root level. With a commendable team of volunteers at various villages and a growing demand of employees, the initiative will also provide a plethora of job opportunities. In the recent financial year, Nyayika handled 1683 cases of legal aid and advice.
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| Tushar Bhardwaj | “Attempting to tackle two issues at the same time, Tushar Bhardwaj’s business model not only utilises waste from coffee production but also contributes to the agricultural sector. The waste from coffee production is at an alarming 99.8%. This waste can be utilised to grow various varieties of mushrooms at low or no costs. The coffee waste can also be used as a manure for the agriculture industry.
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| Sanjay Kumar Patel | Finding a solution to the problem of harmful fuel and gas, Sanjay Kumar Patel’s initiative SPRE .NJ .USA is a subsidiary company of SP Renewable Energy Sources Pvt. Ltd-SPRE- a leading Biogas company in India, with technical collaborations to German, Dutch and Swedish companies. The target audience is villages where the risk of health issues from un-clean energy is critical. The initiative attempts to provide clean fuel for daily needs which will not only empower the villagers but will also increase productivity and over-all health.
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| Dinesh Kumar Singh | Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. aims to empower the fishermen community in the country. With over 3 million families in 3202 coastal villages depending only on fishing for their livelihood and food security, it becomes imperative to introduce innovation to ease labour and risk factors. The product offers information on Potential Fishing Zone Prediction and Ocean State information which can help them plan their journey into the ocean. Through technology and digitization, the initiative aims to change the way this section functions.
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| Gunjan Gupta | In an effort to minimise dependability of the visually impaired, Tellmate Helper Private Limited offers reading material in Braille. The reading material aims to improve the skills and increases the possibility of an independent future with job security. This initiative will help the visually impaired from the BOP section as it gives them access to knowledge and information without dependency.
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| A Ramesh Kumar | Contributing to the Prime Minister’s vision of Housing for All by 2022, Swarna Pragati Housing Microfinance Pvt. Ltd. has been constructing pucca houses for rural India. In collaboration with various partners, the company has successful financed housing for a large number of people. Their innovative approach aims to accelerate the growth of house security.
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| Gangamma KM | Industree Crafts Foundation aims to empower women artisans. They also aim to reduce the role of middlemen, to ensure women entrepreneurs receive their due and to financially empower local communities. Industree is also setting up micro-enterprises in places where artisans are present, thereby easing their work. These enterprises will be connected to central hubs which support them with market-led operations, giving employment opportunities to artisans locally.
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| Sandith Thandasherry | NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats has brought much needed innovation in an age-old practice. The use of solar boats not only minimises the impact on the environment but it also reduces costs to a large extent. NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats aims to make marine transport more efficient with targets to take the energy needs down to zero. For inland passenger ferries, they offer solar ferry boats that do not need any diesel or petrol.
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| Garima Sahai | Svadha WASH Pvt. Ltd. addresses and successfully tackles the issue of hygiene and cleanliness in the country. Following a sustainable model where each contributor empowers the other, the initiative has transformed the lives of numerous villagers. Svadha trains volunteers to understand and further provides quality sanitation. In their words, they empower an army of entrepreneurs who act as one-stop shops of WASH solutions for households.
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| Simanta Kalita | Centre for Environment Education aspires to reduce health risk for children in schools across India. Addressing the issue of unhygienic practices, their GHS solution replaces tedious and less effective practices. The GHS model is time efficient, cost effective and promotes innovation. The model is slowly being replicated in other states after the successful pilot phase.
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| Kalpit Ashar | “MAD(E) IN MUMBAI brings together innovation, design and technology to change the way urban poor live. Their Aqueous communes are flood resilient housing materials for the urban poor who are vulnerable to risks of flooding and water logging. It provides them a safe shelter that is resilient to the floods and that soaks and recycles the flood water for the communities benefit. The DIY model reduces the responsibility of the Government and local bodies and empowers the residents.
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| Yerravalli Anantha Padmanabha Rao | Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resource’s innovative teaching and learning solution is a boon for millions of students in middle and primary level. RIVER TIDE is an innovative model that addresses the core challenges that rural schools face while attempting to deliver quality education to children. This solution will help teachers manage diverse classrooms and provide quality education to students. RIVER TIDE is also ready for the Skill Development Initiatives of the government and has already reached over 20 million students across India.
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| Sudip Banerjee | FIA Technology Services Pvt. Ltd. provides bank accounts for customers at the bottom of the pyramid. Their initiative also offers financial inclusion to all including farmers, labourers and other sections of society. Their model works on providing an alternative for formal banking with the aid of technology. FIA technology also creates Village Entrepreneurs to run FIA inclusion centres which further help banks reach the disadvantaged sections of society. |
| Machhindra Bhalerao |
NanOlSorb aims to minimise the impact of oil waste through its innovative ideas. It absorbs oil and other hazardous solvents due to its micro porous nature, large specific surface area and hydrophobicity. The additional advantage of the process is that it helps in utilization of WCO in a proper manner and thus eliminates the environmental impacts caused by the harmful disposal of these oils into a drainage system. NanOISorbs can drastically help other industries as well.
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| Sunil Kumar | Agventures Corporation addresses the problem of cotton picking. The traditional manner of picking cotton demands high labour. This innovation will benefit thousands of cotton farmers who face labour scarcity and high wages during their harvesting season. As the speed of harvesting is higher with the machine, harvesting costs will come down and the farmer’s profit will increase. |
| Prakashbhai Vaghasiya |
Prakashbhai Vaghasiya’s innovation aims at efficient waste management. He believes that this product will act as an income source for financially weaker families by creating products using the waste materials from the farm. The product also promises largescale environmental benefits |
| Ullas Kumar |
Meghshala Trust innovation uses a blend of technology and in person support to address the skill and motivation gaps of teachers. They have tested their lessons in more than 120+ schools across Karnataka and the adoption rates of teachers were impressive. They aim to empower 100,000 teachers by 2020. Their beneficiaries are predominantly teachers in government schools and low income private schools. |
The objective of the contest was to identify a pool of social impact innovators that have developed or are developing commercially viable solutions to the socio-economic problems of India. This would facilitate the creation of a community of innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, grant bodies, and mentors support the selected startups for commercialisation and scale up. The key focus sectors for the National Contest on Social Innovation include – Cleantech, Education, Health, Housing, Public Transport, Skill development and Livelihood, Waste management, Water and Sanitation and Women empowerment.
Congratulations to the winners, once again. Such innovative measures led by citizens further lends a major hand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’
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