Meet the 16 winners of govt-backed innovation programme IIGP

The India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) on Thursday announced 16 winners of its 2018 edition offering social and industrial solutions ranging from post-mastectomy kits to green tech for propulsion into outer space, a press statement said. This was the second edition of IIGP, which is an initiative of the government, Lockheed Martin Corp (the Pentagon's No. 1 weapons supplier) and Tata Trusts, a group of public charities that hold over 66% in the Tata conglomerate’s holding company.

IIGP aims to support the government’s Startup India and Make in India initiatives.

The 16 winners were chosen from shortlisted 50 entities, which in turn were picked from 3,000 applicants that proposed innovations for social impact and industrial transformation in India. The 3,000 applicants were evaluated across areas such as assistive technology, healthcare, clean energy, cyber security, data analytics, space technology, education, sanitation, Internet of Things, and fin-tech.

In the last six months, the 50 entities shortlisted from 3,000 applicants were invited for training in design, readiness for the market and business models at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The 50 entities also attended a boot camp at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

The 16 winners selected from the shortlisted 50 entities have been awarded Rs 25 lakh each. 

Winners from the social-innovation category are:

1.  Aarna Biomedical Products Ltd: Its product Poorti is an affordable, light-weight kit designed to cater to the needs of breast-cancer survivors who have undergone mastectomy to restore their confidence, dignity and femininity.
2. Green Farming Forever Innovations: Its product Moksh is used after harvest of rice crop. Moksh picks up the rice straw from the ground and converts it into powder. It is powered by a radiation-based dryer which takes 110 times less time than a conventional dryer, saving five to seven days for farmers. Using the machine, the farmers can earn as much as Rs 40,000 per month.
3. Torch-It Electornics Pvt. Ltd: Ahmedabad-based Torch-It was founded in 2015 by Hunny Bhagchandani. Its product Saarthi is an affordable handheld device for visually-impaired people to move around obstacles they encounter on a daily basis. The device comes with sensors that buzz and vibrate.
4. 22bate7 Software Pvt. Ltd: Its product piCards is a low-cost continuous-feedback, audience-polling, formative-assessment solution that lets teachers assess comprehension levels in classrooms in order to improve learning outcomes.
5.  TouchVision Tech: It is a New Delhi-headquartered firm founded in 2007 by Ankita Gulati. Its product TouchVision is a multisensory education platform for visually-impaired people.
6. CareNX Innovations Pvt. Ltd: It is a Mumbai-based company founded in 2015 by Shantanu Pathak and Aditya Kulkarni. Its device SelfCervi can be used for self-screening of cervical cancer.
7. Shira MedTech Pvt. Ltd: Its product Shira Clamps make microsurgery possible for surgeons in all domains.
8. Genrobotic Innovations Pvt. Ltd: Its product Bandicoot is a semiautomatic robotic system for manhole and sewer cleaning that uses pressurised water jet. The system aims at eliminating manual work.

Winners from the industrial-innovation category are:

1. IIT-Madras: Its product Aqua-fi is an adaptive underwater wireless acoustic modem that aims to become the world leader in underwater acoustic communication.
2. Delectrik Systems Private Limited: Its product Redox Flow Battery is a decentralised electricity system aiming to provide affordable and sustainable energy.
3. DrivAmp LLP: It has developed smart electric-vehicle charging stations and system controllers.
4. Etrix Technologies Private Limited: Its product BlinkIN is a visual communication and assistive tool for tech support and training -- anytime, anywhere. The product is powered by augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
5. Irov Technologies Private Limited: Its product does underwater inspections of critical infrastructure like dams, bridges, and offshore structures, with the help of underwater drones and advanced sensors.
6. MakerInMe Technologies Private Limited: Its product Cretile is a kit of plug-and-play robotic, automation, IoT and electronic modular building blocks. IoT is Internet of Things. Cretile aims to empower creators with innovative tools to bring their dream creations into being.
7. Manastu Space Technologies Private Limited: Its green-propulsion technology for low-thrust applications use premixed hydrogen peroxide and alcohol (instead of the current hydrazine-based toxic mono-propellant systems). The tech aims to reduce the cost of access to outer space.
8. Sastra Robotics India Private Limited: Its product SR-Dimenzio performs human-arm actions for precision and risky jobs.