1. 1. VOICES Cover by: Mrs. Radha Harish, IITK E-magazine of the Alumni of IIT Kanpur Issue 4: July 2014
2. 2. 2 VOICES E-magazine of the Alumni of IIT Kanpur Issue 4: July 2014 Contents :Editorial Arun Srivastava.............................................................................................................3 This is not the end, take another road, if it suites you Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)........................... 5 - . ............................................................................................................................................9 - ..........................................................................................................................................................12 + - .............13 - ................................................................................................... 15 S-O-M-E-O-N-E : Navneet Kamal (ME,Y12) ............................................................... 16 EARTH SCIENCES - A NEW STREAM of STUDY AT IITK .......................................... 18 TECHNOLOGY: TOILET WITH A PURPOSE ................................................................ 21 BUSINESS: Healthcaremagic In $18.5M Cash-Cum-Earn Out Deal..................................................................24 Book Review: Game of Chess ... 26 STARTUP IN THE INCUBATION CENTER AT IITK: Weaving a World of Nano Fibres Sandip Patil (PhD/IITK) .......................................................................................................................................................................27 INVENTION IN THE INCUBATION CENTER AT IITK: A PROLIFIC INVENTOR,Jitendra Bhardwaj (MT/EE/Y3xxx) ..........................................................................................................................................................30 ECOLOGY BUSINESS IN THE INCUBATION CENTER AT IITK: Habitat Mapping: Feel the Ecosystem- Veerender Kumar [M Sc (Int)/Econ/Y7xxx)..34 STARTUP IN KOLKATA:Ecofriendly E-Waste Disposal - Abhinav Prateek (Y8/Mech/Y8xxx) ............................................................................. 38 - (BT/EE/ 67xxx)......................................................................................................40 ARTIST ON CAMPUS: Some Paintings by Mrs. Radha Harish ..... .................41 July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
3. 3. 3 : Editorial VOICES gets more poems than anything else, from the alumni and the current students at IITK. This trend is a mystery. At best poetry is appreciated in occasional recital. It surely makes it easy to express the most intense feelings in the quickest way. Other means would take much longer and therefore more effort to achieve the same result. It is akin to expressing a natural phenomenon in a mathematical equation, perhaps. And engineers are used to it? Think. The poem by Dr Sunita Jain has deep fear, anguish, and anger, and it shames every male to live and tolerate what is seen every day in the news. The fear is not limited to the victim it transcends to impact the listener. The current students have brought in freshness to our collection of poetry this time and it is a great way to connect. In this issue the current scene at IITK gets more space than entertainment and nostalgia. It is not by design, but by the nature of contribution received. The talent is showing and it holds promise of a better future. We have a new stream of study in the Department of Earth Sciences. A revolutionary toilet system has been successfully launched. It should be of great help in the rural India as well as in small towns and public places with the advantage of generating Organic manure and safe fertilizers out of waste which was a problem of disposal until now. It also saves about 60%water per household. Get inspired by Kunal, a millionaire amidst us. Nanotech shows new products for healing wounds quickly in a safe and non-intrusive way. We have a prolific inventor who works tirelessly through the nights to create excellent gadgets. The range is from hollow ring drums to virtual keyboards projected almost anywhere in any size. Meet Jitendra. Habmap monitors and transmits real time data of environment for those who care and soon there should be plenty. The way we are destroying this planet, we will require better information about our environment first hand rather than depend on a municipality to voice our concern, and take precautionary steps to safeguard our health and survival. Ecofriendly Electronic waste disposal is a new business line riding on the back of Moores law. The technology that moves fast also generates hazardous waste in the same proportion. Now it is a business opportunity. And, best of all, VOICES discovered an artist on campus; enjoy and appreciate the paintings of Mrs Radha Harish. Thanks to all the contributors for bringing out one more issue of VOICES. Arun Srivastava July 2014 July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
4. 4. 4 V O I C E S C O N N E C T S BEEN THERE DONE THAT SHARE YOUR CREATIVITY AND EXPERIENCE WITH ALUMNI AND IITK E X P A N D YOUR UNIVERSE Everything printable (except politics) is welcome. If you can talk about it, you can also write it for sure: Happenings in halls of residence, mess, lectures, tutorials, play grounds, cultural clubs and festivals, interaction with faculty, issues in senate, outings in Kanpur, vacation, journeys, exams and quizzes, creative explosions, eccentrics Vs. genius, and current happenings on the campus, the list is endless, and so must be our collective memories. Let us share them. The emagazine is in English and Hindi. email ID and phone number (If available) of the contributor will be printed with every entry for continuing relationships. Please send your original writings, poems, photos, drawings, etc. to: editiitkemag@yahoo.in with a CC to: gupta@ohio.edu Due credit will be given for each piece to its author. If the matter was published elsewhere previously, the writer should mention it along with a statement that there is no copyright issue if it is republished in the AA e-magazine. Responsibility for ensuring originality and correctness of information remains with the author and the Alumni Association or the editor will not be a party to the views or matter submitted for publishing in the VOICES. Submissions should be in plain text or an easily editable format. Photographs and sketches should be submitted in the jpg/jpeg format. Old issues of VOICES can be read at: VOICES-1 http://www.iitkalumni.org/Voices_Jan2013.pdf VOICES-2 http://www.iitkalumni.org/VOICES%20II.pdf VOICES-3 http://www.iitkalumni.org/Voices%20III%20desk.pdf July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
5. 5. 5 This is not the end, take another road if it suites you Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx) The best place for you is the place that inspires you to do what you really want to do. This is not the end, take another road, the one less traveled, if it suites you. That includes going out of the institute if it repels you, or you think there are other places better than this one. Who said it is the only place to be in. No it is not, if you think so. And it is ok. The best place for you is the place that inspires you to do what you really want to do. If there is little or no clarity on that issue then it is best to continue being here. Failures are essential part of life Failures are essential parts of life. They can be academic, emotional, or professional. Take them in stride. Professional failures are much more painful than the other ones. Their impact on life is much greater in terms of money, prestige, relationships, and confidence. Nevertheless when they occur, one has no choice but to wade through them. I know from my own experience it is something one cannot eliminate from one's life. There is no way, since one cannot control the whole world, its politics, and its economy. I changed my job in my late forties to join an MNC with a great promise for growth. One year later the Indian power sector started failing in execution due to various reasons, and without control. The 12 fast track large projects which attracted a lot of MNCs into India slowed down to almost a halt. MNCs are not used to that kind of uncertainty and they decided to close operations in India. I had to look for another job. It was not a personal mistake yet I was stuck in it. I activated all contacts and I was saved, but I landed into a field I had no experience of. Only due to my confidence in getting the hang of anything I picked up in a short time I succeeded in the new venture. That confidence always emerges even from my poor grades at IITK. That is the advantage of continuing at IITK. Sometimes important decisions have to be taken with only a part of the required inputs. It is unfair, that's why life has pain, but that's not the end. Kishore Biyani of Future Group says failure should be celebrated because: "Growth of entrepreneur at a national scale has the potential to create disproportionately large number of jobs, create wealth and fuel development. It can usher in a new wave of growth and It is the freedom from fear of failure that lies at the heart of entrepreneurship. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
6. 6. 6 opportunities for the country. But for that to happen, we need to gain another freedom. It is the freedom from fear of failure that lies at the heart of entrepreneurship." Do not let it build up An early sign of a trouble in academic part of life is missing a few steps in the study of a course material. If left without an immediate clarity, it builds on to greater problems because one feels lost and distracted leading to a failure in exams ultimately. Avoid this buildup of issues. You have a right to seek help on course material if it is not clear. Go right up to the professor for help and do not stop there if not satisfied. Go to the head of the department if need be. Never live with a gap in your understanding of a subject, which was your primary objective of joining a place of study. You have to be clear in your concepts. Be faithful to your primary resolve of coming to this place against heavy odds. The system is built to teach you, not to leave you in confusion or frustration. Communicate, have bosom pals. You have counselors, take their advice. But, before going to a counselor, visit the professor whose course is proving to be difficult. Take coaching for a while on specific concepts and gaps in knowledge. It is better to be a fool once, than to be so all your life. Go ahead ask stupid questions, and let him laugh. It is a small price to become wiser in the long run. Kill your ego, it doesn't help anyone to have ego with ignorance, in front of a teacher. What do you care what others say - you should not. Whenever I consulted my tutors/lecturers on a subject I was saved from an F, and when I thought I was too smart to do that I flunked. Know your level of competence and work with it. Never try to copy others. There are many types of minds/brains. I needed to read the same topic two to three times because my memory is bad. I took time to realize that which showed up in the results. Once having grasped I could do well but I needed more time. That is also a type of mind given to us, and you have no control over it, yet knowing the limitations one can work out a strategy to overcome the difficulty. Playing with a handicap is OK. Everyone has some. When tense moments are there physical activity helps recharge. Run, walk, or play; an activity of intense nature can calm you down and increase your ability to get you out of procrastination, lack of interest, or simple lethargy. Meditation and pranayam also help. Exploit opportunities that IITK offers Freedom at IITK is something you will always cherish and remember. Use it with care and responsibility. The freedom of thought and life without any interference, with all your daily needs taken care of by the institute is like living in heaven. Honestly! You will not realize this until you are forced to buy grocery for your daily needs, or cook your daily meals. All you have to do at an IIT is: Do what you came here for. The entire system is designed to help you achieve excellence in whatever you want to do. Use that opportunity to its full potential every day. We develop an analytical mind at IITK which refuses to blink at any challenge. Ability to take- up any problem, jump-in, learn, and improve almost anything. We are not limited by subject It is better to be a fool once, than to be so all your life. Go ahead ask stupid questions, and let him laugh. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
7. 7. 7 knowledge. We make a difference within a short time at work, and get noticed, irrespective of the grades earned at IITK. I never took up the same type of job ever. All the changes were independent of the previous experience to a large extent. Do not try to predict or plan everything I started with electronics industry, the company closed down, no job, went into maintenance, shifted to electrical design, drifted into turbines, control systems, power generation; got bored with design, went into marketing, the company (MNC) closed, lost job, made it into marketing of cooling systems (knew nothing about them). Just took on whatever came my way and delved in with full rigor. Planned? Not at all. That is not the only way but it works for most of us. The key is speed of learning we get through the training of minds at an IIT. Knowing everything and full planning does not work always. Tell someone that she will be a silkworm, then a pupa confined in a small dark sticky space, and before developing into a beautiful butterfly the eyes will pop out of skin, and let me know of anyone who would opt for this plan. Confidence of being able to deal with any situation is required over and above detailed planning. These institutes develop that ability. Present is temporary, future is far away, do not try to predict or plan everything. For every turn there are many endless roads. There will be little guidance later on but you will have to continue, choose a path and carry on. Just slog on and you will find rewards of continuing. You will win ultimately with flying colors. You think 10-pointers have it easy! With better grades you can plan or select the future career, with average or low grades you may have to start afresh in whatever comes your way and then work your way up by hard work. There is no shortcut to success even with 10 points all along in your mark sheet. After landing a job you are as good as your results in that job. The degree provides a first step forward and your journey begins thereafter to find a vocation of your liking. The quest continues long afterward for everyone. Very few employers will ask for your CPI after a few initial screenings. Don't worry too much about grades but do try to think about what you know, and what you are studying. Some of the courses may not suit your taste, but we must pass, somehow scrape through, if you will. It is OK. You never know, that very course may help in your job, and believe me you will then find it very interesting. I discovered it with thermodynamics. I had scraped through it, but I used it the most later on in my jobs in the power sector. In my time everyone wanted to do maximum of electronics, including myself. My first job was in that stream, but the company closed shop soon and I had to drift into hardcore electrical engineering, and power generation. Electronics became a hobby, off and on. Learn to manage parental expectations Deal with parental expectations on a practical footing. Parents would love you all the same, Present is temporary, future is far away, do not try to predict or plan everything. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
8. 8. 8 even after a failure. Though they have a right to expect, they must be told about your limits. They have to press for performance. What are they doing if they did not do so? Discuss the difficulties, present problems, predict if you must that it might not be as good as they thought initially. That type of honesty reduces the burden on both, and creates space for living a little differently, and at a pace that feels comfortable and manageable for you. Money can only buy so much happiness In my working life I have noticed that money and happiness are not related; satisfaction and happiness are. Money is a byproduct of doing a job well. There is no substitute for sincerity and honesty leading to a beautiful life. If money were all that important, there would be no high class professors at IIT's. They are all immensely qualified to take up a cushy job in industry. Yet they are there for their values based on excellent work and simple life. I salute them. Believe in your ability, it is proven by a unique entrance test that few can pass. You are already there. Avail this opportunity and forge ahead. There is only upside from here no downside. Continue and you will fly. You may like to watch this hilarious poem on my struggle with a quiz in the first year at IITK, back in 1967-68: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu0QV2_gLAQ Some Interesting Links: New website of the Alumni Association: http://www.iitkaa.org A Story of IITK Saga is underway. You can contribute your anecdotes to it. http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/iitk/newhtml/iitksaga.htm Directions is a research publication of the Institute: http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/iitk/newhtml/newsletter.htm A Hindi magazine from campus: http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/iitk/newhtml/Antas/ Newsletters and magazines from DRPG: http://www.iitk.ac.in/drpg/newsmag.htm News at IITK http://www.iitk.ac.in/news/ Institute Archives http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/ Office of Research and Development http://www.iitk.ac.in/dord/ July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
9. 9. 9 . ( ) Dr. Sunita Jain was the Head of the Department of HSS at IIT Delhi, from where she retired as a Professor of English in 2002. She writes in Hindi and English. Visit her website for equally engaging poetry and other literary works: www.padmashrisunitajain.com - - , , July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
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11. 11. 11 ! - - - - , Sketch Arun (BT/EE/67xxx) July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
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16. 16. 16 S-O-M-E-O-N-E Navneet Kamal (ME, Y12) In this poem, the poet imagines himself to have grown very old, and his memory is fading. At this stage of life, he gathers the loved ones once again. There was someone, who used to sing lores she carried the heavy load of my daily school scores. I still wonder how much she cares and the surplus love that she stores. She always cooked me food but one thing that she bother was in spite of my out bursting waist, she saw it as light as feather no one but she could care so much for me yes, you guessed it right, she was my mother. There was someone, who looks so strict from above but I know from inside, he was mild as a holy dove he looked after me in all my growing years and borne all the expenses with never ending love. He was a teacher, preacher and a friend when I was teen. I tried to learn from him whatever I had seen he always inspired me to keep working hard and someday fulfil my all baseless dreams. He was not some God or the greatest mind either but for me he was the best because he was my father. There was someone, who grew with me who was my first friend and who played with me her presence taught me sharing the love of our mother between her and me. We used to enjoy all day long and daily watch cartoons on TV these memories bring me smile when I remember of my sister and me. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
17. 17. 17 Later in my life, came someone unique her nature made me think her some beautiful goddess of Greek. She was the Closest Friend I ever had in my life she could understand my feelings even if I didn't speak. Throughout my life, she remained my helping hand and this way, she taught me the real meaning of a Friend. She would agree with me even if I acted foolishly thats why her presence made me feel more lively. We two are still the closest Friends for life everything is same between us except that we grew old slightly. At this stage my memory seems to fade away a bit but one thing I always remember that I called her smiley. There was much more in my life when I was not old there was much more beauty in nature that I did behold. But these are a few people who made my life good and whenever I remember them, I get serenity untold. Sketch Arun (BT /EE/67xxx) July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
18. 18. 18 EARTH SCIENCES A New Stream of Studies at IIT Kanpur Prof. Rajiv Sinha, Head - Department of Earth Sciences IIT Kanpur has created a new Department of Earth Sciences on February 5, 2014 as per the recommendation of the Senate and approval by the Board of Governors. The primary goal of this Department is to prepare a new breed of geoscientists in the country who would seek interdisciplinary solutions to earth science problems. Keeping in view that Earth Science has developed into a major knowledge domain of science and technology over the years; it is desirable to develop the Earth Sciences programme at IIT Kanpur with an interdisciplinary focus. Several important issues such as climate change, natural hazards, environmental degradation and resource depletion have made this science highly relevant to the society, and we hope to fulfill the aspirations of the earth science community through the newly created Department of Earth Sciences. The Department will offer the following academic programmes: 1. PhD programme in Earth Sciences starting in July 2014 to produce high quality research students in Earth Sciences. 2. M.Tech programme in Engineering Geosciences starting in July 2014 to focus on applied earth sciences and specialized courses in earth surface processes, climate science and natural hazards. 3. BS-MS programme in Earth Science starting in July 2015 with a strong emphasis on basic sciences, computational and engineering sciences, modern analytical tools, and application-oriented teaching emphasizing Indian case histories. The details of the academic programme, facilities and faculty list etc. are available at the web site: www.iitk.ac.in/es The Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Kanpur would focus on study of the Earth, encompassing its evolution and internal dynamics, its surface processes, natural and human-induced transformations of the terrestrial environment vis-a-vis sustainable development given the biggest problem we face in terms of rapidly increasing population. A few highlights of the specific areas of research in which our colleagues are involved include: River Science, Environmental and Climate Science, Groundwater Structure and Dynamics, and Natural Hazards. River Science In spite of the pivotal role rivers play in sustaining human civilizations, the July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
19. 19. 19 understanding of large river systems and appreciation of their multidimensional nature is still fragmentary. Our research in river science encompasses a wide gamut of topics ranging from River Dynamics, Flood Risk, and Sediment Flux Measurements. One of our important activities is to probe the human transformations of large river systems in terms of river form and processes. We are also assessing how climate change affects the linkages between the Himalayan ice sheets and large-river systems. We are a part of Global Rivers Observatory programme, and the main objective of the observatory is to understand how global climate change and human activities are impacting river water chemistry and land-to-sea transport of dissolved and particulate matter. Environmental and Climate Science This theme focuses on probing the biogeochemical cycles of pollutants in the environment by quantifying anthropogenic element fluxes from mining, human apportionment of net primary productivity, construction activities, and fossil fuel and biomass burning, and assessing the extent of environmental damage. Another focus is on developing new methods that can degrade toxic inorganic contaminants present in water and soil at heavily contaminated sites. A recent project involves monitoring of Black Carbon (BC) in Particulate Matter in the atmosphere from regional sites in India and to understand its impact on global warming. Groundwater Structure and Dynamics Groundwater depletion at a very fast rate is a serious problem in many parts of India. A major research area at this department involves modeling groundwater flow dynamics under varying stresses, and to forecast the response of the groundwater system to plausible future input and output scenarios driven by changes in the water cycle in parts of NW India. This multi- disciplinary effort aims to estimate the total volume loss in groundwater during the last few decades vis--vis the rate of recharge, and then we would attempt to suggest sustainable management strategies. Natural Hazards We have a keen interest in natural hazards particularly in flood hazards and waterlogging, and we have executed major research projects in these areas. Our new faculty colleagues plan to initiate major programmes on landslides and other hazards related to deformation such as earthquakes and subsidence. Major Facilities in the Department LABORATORY FACILITIES: Bartington Magnetic Susceptibility Meter Core Archival and Analysis Facility, Digital Flame Photometer Drill Core Scanner (DCS) for continuous measurement of magnetic susceptibility and natural gamma ray Eutech Multi-probe water quality bench meter Hydrobios Gravity Corer and Core Dredger Leica Optical Microscopes with modal counting stage Nikon Stereo zoom microscope Resistivity Meter Sedimentological Facilities Automated sieve shaker Rock cutter and Thin section preparation units Total Station RTK-enabled Kinematic GPS, Inflatable boats Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) with graphite furnace X-ray Diffractometer Water isotope analyzer Quadrupole ICP-MS Wet chemistry lab UV spectrophotometer Milli-Q system Muffle furnaces Centrifuge Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Imaging Rover System July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
20. 20. 20 CENTRAL FACILITIES: Electron Microprobe Stable isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) wave-length dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WD-XRF) etc. Deliverables The newly created Department of Earth Sciences aims to fulfill the expectations of the nation in terms of: Creating modern and interdisciplinary earth science programmes that will produce manpower capable of engaging with studies related to earth systems and sustainability recognizing the increasing complexity of coupled environmental-social systems Providing a sound, topical background to students in various aspects of Earth Systems, which will form the foundation for high-end research and provide a wide range of employment opportunities. Creating state of the art teaching and research facilities to provide data/services that are quantitative, accurate, and verifiable Developing solutions for sustainable development of earth resources in view of growing demands of a steadily increasing population. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
21. 21. 21 TECHNOLOGY TOILET WITH A PURPOSE: POSITIVE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx) (With inputs from the Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Management Programme) Prof. Vinod Tare (MT/PhD/78/81IITK) Sewer lines can be history and waste can be manna with a Zero Discharge Toilet System developed at IITK by a team led by Prof. Vinod Tare. Instead of the last resort of discarding it away farthest from the civilization, or inside earth in cesspits within living areas, or into a river, it can be treated to provide low cost organic and chemical fertilizers like vermi-compost, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, while saving the precious fresh water. It is said that the third world war could be fought over control of water resources and this system can help us save from that impending disaster, because 60% water used in a modern house hold is flushed out of toilets. It is a complete waste from pumping into a house to discharge in a sewer line. In a city like London the network of sewer lines is 20,000 km long and it was necessary to have it after the great stink of 1858 when the entire river Thames became a stagnant gutter causing heavy loss of life due to an epidemic of Cholera. The parliament had to commission the construction of sewer lines. Between 1859 and 1865, there were 450 miles (720 km) of main sewers that, in turn, conveyed the contents of some 13,000 miles (21,000 km) of smaller local sewers. (Source: Wikipedia) The zero discharge toilet system was successfully employed in the last Kumbh Mela at Allahabad where it was used by about a million people for about one month without notice. Cleanliness in the holy place was taken for granted, but it could have easily become an epidemic of deadly diseases like Cholera, and Diarrhea if the daily waste were not handled scientifically and immediately on a continuous basis with minimum human intervention. The system is based on the wisdom of isolating water bodies from human excreta. The toilets are identical to those in conventional water borne system as these are the most acceptable and known to be This system can help us save from that impending water resource disaster, because 60% water used in a modern house hold is flushed out of toilets. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
22. 22. 22 hygienically safe. Collection and processing of the waste, however, is entirely different from the conventional system. The solid and liquid matters are separated underneath the toilet seat itself by using a solid-liquid separator. The separator allows formation of a thin film of water that adheres to the surface of the separator and flows outwardly while most of the solids gravitate. The solids gradually disintegrate to form slurry, which is then fed to the bio-composter. The liquid is clarified adopting flocculent settling using enzymes and polymers extracted from naturally available fungi and other microbes. The enzymes and polymers along with a green edible dye eliminate the foul smell and improve aesthetics of the recycled flush water. The clarified liquid is recycled for flushing the toilets; thus avoiding use of fresh water for flushing while no compromise is made for properly cleaning the toilet pan. The entire scheme is implemented in a compact fashion in the vicinity of the toilet avoiding long distance conveyance of water and wastes. The fecal sludge is converted into quality organic manure using activated composting followed by vermicomposting. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potash (NPK) are precipitated and recovered intermittently from the flush water to get inorganic fertilizer. The inputs to the toilet system are: 1. Human excreta 2. Wash water 3. Enzymes and polymers extracted from natural fungi and microbes Edible alkaline dye solution The outputs from the toilet system are: 1. Vermi-compost 2. Inorganic fertilizer (NPK mixture) Ecological Sanitation with Zero Discharge W C Liquid Solid Separator SLURY LIQUID Enzyme + Polymer + Dye Nitrogen + Phosphorus + Potassium for Agriculture Compost Mixer for Agriculture Vermi- Composting for Agriculture Wash The zero discharge toilet system was successfully employed in the last Kumbh Mela at Allahabad where it was used by about a million people for about one month without notice. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
23. 23. 23 Merits of ZDTS: The front end is similar to the conventional water flush toilets. Simple device to separate fecal matter from flush water (with urine and wash water). Recycling of flushed water eliminates use of fresh water for that purpose. Conversion of fecal matter to quality organic manure. Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium recovery from flushed water. Can be installed anywhere; no power / sewer requirement for its functioning. Easy to install, and it can be provided on a mobile platform to be taken quickly to a place of use. Capital Cost: $6,500 for a set of four toilets excluding the manure processing plant. Daily Operating Cost: $0.05/user/day [per use] Success Indicators: Complete isolation of human excreta from water bodies (surface or sub-surface) System life expectancy : 25-30 years Usable water recovered : 70-80 % Fertilizer recovered : > 90 % of nutrients, and > 40 % organic matter July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
24. 24. 24 BUSINESS HealthcareMagic In $18.5M Cash-Cum-Earn Out Deal Kunal Sinha (BT/ME/99) founded HealthcareMagic in 2008. HealthcareMagics ASK A DOCTOR facilitates a health query, with attachments of a photo, or a lab report to doctors across the world. A network of doctors replies in a short time. The service is on a per usage or subscription basis and it is available on the web, Android, and iOS devices. They get about 130 queries per hour, and 70 % are from the US. Employees and their families in companies like Vodafone, HSBC, McAfee, Akamai, Sapient, ICICI, Airbus, Bajaj and BMW are benefitted by this service in India. Ebix Inc, an international supplier of on- demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance, finance and healthcare industries, has acquired Bangalore-based Unified Health Solution Pvt Ltd, the company behind HealthcareMagic. Ebix paid $6 million in cash for the acquisition with a contingent earn out of up to $12.5 million payable after two years. VOICES interviewed the team behind HealthcareMagic: How did you identify the opportunity? The plan was to start something in education or healthcare. We all have been in the queues to meet a doctor or confused which hospital to go so we saw a huge gap in healthcare domain. Then we decided to bridge this gap by building a platform where people can directly ask their health questions to doctors, thus HealthcareMagic was born. What were the risks? The area we are in (consumer driven tele- medicine) is very niche and we did not know if demand existed. The risk was running out of cash before we could generate revenue. Who stuck out the neck and said, "We will do this, will you join?" Kunal started this wave and Nitesh Pant, Dr. Mazumdar and Shekhar Sahu joined from day one. What were the constraints and how they were overcome - financial and technical? In the beginning, we ran the company from our own funds, but to sustain and grow we needed venture capital funds. Since Kunals July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
25. 25. 25 first company was acquired at a good valuation, he funded the company and paid salary of the staff for the first year. Then we got the seed fund from Accel Partners. Technically, the biggest challenge was to make people aware of such a service, so we leveraged on creating high quality doctor written and answered content on our website which helped us grow our website traffic. We relied on free medium for building our brand; Facebook and Twitter. We grew to a follower base of more than 12 lakhs on Twitter, which is the highest in the world for any healthcare company. What was the turning point in their venture, or when did you get a gut feeling that it was a great story unfolding? Towards the end of second year, when we started getting a lot of paid queries (in dollars and pounds) from the users outside India, we realized that we have hit a jack- pot. Now, post-acquisition, one may call it a "story" but it is still on-going and we keep experimenting with new ideas and new features. What did you do which others in the same business did not do? What differentiated you from others? We have a strong network of more than 15,000+ doctors across the globe and 1000+ specialists behind high quality of answers you get with good customer satisfaction. For example: 100% refund if the user is not happy with the doctors answer. Technically we got a great traffic through search engines and today we get around 1 lakh visitors every day on the website. We have spent a lot of time and money on technology and mobile apps. How is the competition? Not much. We've been the first mover's in consumer driven tele-medicine and e- health. We became a benchmark for companies which started later in this niche. Now as we plan to go international, competition will be interesting to watch. Who was the mentor (If there was one)? No one from the business side; People at Accel Partners helped us in getting connected with technical people, who helped us in generating traffic. How many were there to begin with and what was their contribution. Nitesh Pant and Shekhar Sahu were with me in my previous company. Nitesh managed company's finance, operations, and looked after our corporate business. Shekhar created website's look and feel from early sketches to what you see today. Dr. Mazumdar was our first doctor to join, and he built our 15000+ strong network of doctors across the globe. Who left and why? A few people left along the journey because they found better career options at that moment. It would have been good had they been with us. They had a good opportunity to earn money as almost 30% of the employees in the company made money from the share options. You are an engineer and your skills are limited to programming perhaps. Getting domain experts on board must have been a major challenge. How did you manage to get the domain knowledge of your business with confidence? We had a doctor (Dr. Mazumdar) in the team from day one. Moreover, I come from a family of doctors so it made the understanding easier. Since you are going to sell the business, what next? July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
26. 26. 26 The future plan is to integrate our online health services to thousands of hospitals, hundreds of brokerage houses, and many insurance companies across the globe. Ebix is the world leader in insurance software and it already has a strong presence in the enterprise segment. We will be working closely with Ebix to expand our reach to all major insurance companies across multiple countries wherever Ebix has operations such as the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Brazil. Future looks exciting with interesting challenges to tackle ahead. At the same time we will keep firing on all cylinders to retain our leadership position in the B2C segment globally. --xx-- Book Review Game of Chess Author: Kartik Srivastava (BT/Ch/Y9xxx) The story starts simplistically with two professors playing chess, but it becomes convoluted when the game suddenly becomes live and the battle turns real. They try to figure out why and how it is so, or is it a reality; and in the process they uncover hidden truths about nature. Where the truth ultimately takes them is not only unexpected, it is startling and would leave the readers thinking for quite some time to fully assimilate its impact. The account of battles makes it even more engaging with graphic visual descrition and intense logical debates surrounding the game. At an instance old man II proposes an experiment to test whether both of them are dreaming is not only very well thought out but is fully backed by logical explanation and discussion. Detailed portrayal of battles leaves a lasting impression. There is convergence of science and psychology in the story and despite this being a fantasy none of the supernatural things seem illogical as the characters do not take anything at its face value unless backed with a logical explanation. Review by: Anand Maraiya (BT/AE/Y5xxx) July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
27. 27. 27 STARTUP IN THE INCUBATION CENTER AT IITK Weaving a World of Nano Fibres Sandip Patil (PhD/IITK) patilsandip13@gmail.com E-Spin Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. IIT Kanpur Cell: +919451222560 Just like a spider weaves its web, Electrospinning Station developed at E-Spin Nanotech enables the production of micro- fibres for a wide range of applications. Its application is in Healthcare, Environment and Energy, Electronics and Biotechnology. Nano-fibres can greatly impact our lives in the years to come and will definitely prove to be a revolutionary material for the 21st Century. Improvements in terms of physiochemical properties of a material including mechanical strength, reactivity, allows exchange through them (i.e enhanced permeability) while maintaining the uniformity of layers. This increases mechanical strength, reactivity, electrical and optical quality, and permeability of layers. It will find applications in energy conversion and storage, liquid and air filtration, food technology, healthcare and environmental protection. In the past decade nano surfaces or rather nano topography has become a holy grail for tissue engineering as they create suitable surfaces for biological cells to sit on them while maturing to repair a damaged part of our body. There will be no need to take out skin from one part of body for grafting of a burnt part eliminating another wound and scar. This product is far superior to normal culture plates as it helps in mimicking the native environment for cells to grow by providing a nano-fibrous substrate. The Technology It starts with a syringe filled with a polymer solution. An electrically charged needle connected to 10,000 volt power supply is used to draw a fibre onto a collector. The beauty of this technology is its simple yet effective use to draw a polymeric thread at nano-scale which can later be made thick or thin by varying the time and other processing parameters. The Technology is called Electrospinning. Nanofibres are so- called because they are extremely thin, in this case, about half the thickness of human hair, and on a scale compatible with nerve fibres and blood vessels. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
28. 28. 28 Electrospun Nano-Fibre When a material reaches nano-fibre diameters, it exhibits some properties with greater advantages in terms of its performance. A material is described as Nano-material whose at least one dimension is less than 100nm. At E-Spin Nanotech, the Electrospun Nano-fibre is in the range of ~50 nm to a few microns. Since Nanofibres have exceptionally small diameters the surface area increases dramatically. These tiny fibres possess high surface to volume ratio and high surface energy therefore it is far superior as opposed to the conventional materials. The Polycaprolactone based nano-fibre system produces scaffolds of varied geometries and sizes in order to provide realistic environment for different cell types to latch onto them in order to create a functional tissue to repair and restore the native damaged or diseased tissue. Living organisms are made up of an extracellular matrix. We are made up of fibres and extracellular matrix (Stephen Badylak). These tissues can be: a) Nervous tissue b) Skeletal tissue c) Cardiovascular tissue The Current Situation Since 2008, eight patients have provided excellent results when surgeons used badly damaged tracheas with man-made nano-technology versions. Synthetic windpipes are made by growing a patients own stem cells on lab-made Electrospun scaffold. In future, this technique can be adapted to create other organs, such as a replacement esophagus, heart valve, or a kidney. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
29. 29. 29 Biological Scaffolds developed at ESpin Nanotech provide: 3D Fibrous structure that mimic environment found inside body (in- vivo). Can be made available in same dimensions as obsolete tissue culture plates. Optically visible in terms of characterization using various imaging modalities. Can be used as biological model systems for drug discovery, drug screening, and market novel biological systems and drugs. Enhances the rate of research Further, it can also be used for Translational Research. Electrospinning Station developed at E- Spin can be used for research in areas as diverse as: Basic Life Sciences Research Tissue Engineering Environment related problems (Liquid and Air Filtration) Aerospace (improved strength of material) Smart Textile Antimicrobial Properties exhibited by fabricated textile Drug Delivery Food Applications Coatings for materials to enhance their function Now they are developing Nano-fibre based coating system for Cardiovascular Medical Devices like Stents, fabrication of Graphene- based system for Electronics, and Drug Delivery System and Polymer based products for advanced cell culture. Other applications include better devices for energy storage, improved batteries and solid state electronics. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
30. 30. 30 INNOVATOR IN THE INCUBATION CENTER AT IITK What is Jitendra Bhardwaj (MT/EE/Y3xxx) Up to? jbhardwajg@gmail.com A prolific innovator at the incubation center at IITK Our vision and central idea of work is Next Generation Interaction: Let Technology Adapt to Us. We are surrounded by gadgets and machines, having a number of versions with complex and redundant user interfaces which make them less user- friendly, and consume our time with unwanted mental-stress during its use. We do not want to refer manuals. Non- intuitive interface are difficult to remember hence large segment of consumers move away from such products. Instead of humans adaptation to machine interface we can make technology adapt to our way of working to make its application enjoyable. Now- a-days these technologies are gaining popularity as Natural User Interface (NUI) in high-end IT products and within the research community. We are proposing and working on many technical solutions with the aim of developing intuitive and efficient user interface which can interpret or translate natural human interactions to machine commands. Advanced touch technology and gesture based sign languages could be considered as examples. If we observe nature, we find that eyes have a major role in sensing during all our activities. Therefore, we have chosen vision based solution for our initial product development. Vision based solutions have a great advantage as they can be operated remotely and compactly, while promising high longevity and portability. Vision sensors have advantages over any other sensing methods such that huge amount of information can be extracted from the same data, and it can be used for many applications like surveillance, tracking and consumer feedback analysis etc. By choosing different spectral bands like thermal and IR we can utilize the same technology for nonvisible range of applications too. In near future we will include the BCI (Brain to Computer Interface) technology to increase its capability and robustness. Currently this is under research and requires rigorous testing before it can be incorporated in a product. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
31. 31. 31 Through our new touch technology we find a shift towards betterment in the following areas, 1) Reduction of E-garbage with energy efficient solutions. 2) Increase in portability and scalability of product due to virtualization. 3) Avoidance of redundant learning for new interfaces. 4) Adaptation with existing and emerging technologies. State of the Art, Demand and Challenges: Vision based interaction has been of great interest among computer vision researchers since last two decades, and we find its animated version in Hollywood Sci-Fi movies. In the last eight years huge investment has been made by worlds leading IT industries like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony in Natural interactivity. Kinect and PS3 are two iconic products in gamming sector which have become the highest selling gadgets in recent years. But these gadgets have limited precision and work in a constrained environment with customized application hence they are not fit for applications that demand greater reliability. Moreover, they use Infra-Red emitters that are potential health hazard for our eyes and body. We also have IR based solutions, but our main focus and R&D is on passive sensing which does not require extra energy source and has better stability in varying lighting conditions. Due to rapid advancement in processor and display technologies, the vision based solutions are becoming feasible now. They have a huge potential to redefine the way we interact in our daily life, and to transform common household appliances into amazingly smart and efficient gadgets. Touch based smart phones and Google glasses are few such segments where the effects of this booming revolution can be seen. The main challenge involved in current state of the art is to achieve accuracy in real time and have a stable and robust solution that can handle variability of the environment. In our solution we have optimized the energy consumption and compactness to a large extent which makes our solution unique and ahead of the competition. Virtual HMI (Human Machine Interface) are good for the following applications: Where space and weight are issues like in air and water vehicles, and advertising space etc. Contamination proof chamber for Bio-tech and medical equipment, and constant pressure chamber for precision engineering. Entertainment and Education: E- learning, electronic boards, books, and toys. Feedback and Virtual Payment system for E-Bazar. Energy sector Some Products: 1) INNO Boards It is a virtual touch board having a number of applications, and by connecting it to the internet we can bring online shopping to any user who does not have a PC or a smartphone. In education sector it can work as a notice board or a white board by integrating with a display device like a projector or a large LED panel. Due to July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
32. 32. 32 advancement in display technology requirement of interactivity will generate a good demand for it in the near future. . We convert any wall into a virtual E- shop or an interactive billboard for unlimited advertisments. This novel E- Bazzar platform system will take the e- commerce to the next level. 2) Amazing Amusement We are introducing amazing virtual instruments (first of their kind) for entertainment and brand promotion. Its display is mesmerizing. It can be used as an interactive floor or table for Android or PC Games. We also serve advance level engineering and R&D consultancy services in fields of Advance Robotic applications : Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision and Mechatronics, IT and Design Solutions. Some Products in Pipeline: 1) Food Processing Sector: Perfect Round Food Shaper. 2) Smart Gadgets: Fake Currency Detector, and Electronic Piping Bag. 3) Remote Health Monitoring System interwoven in apparels: Anytime, anywhere your blood pressure, heart beats, temperature, and many other parameters can be monitored and transmitted to a doctor in real time just by wearing it. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
33. 33. 33 Automatic book scanner independent of language was working in the IITK library until sometime back, before it was recently dismantled. (Wonder Why?) It used to automatically turn the pages of a book being scanned and make corrections for skewed letters which normally appear near the binding margins of a book while copying or scanning it. A product best suited for automatic archiving old books and manuscripts of various languages with OCR is available for commercialization. Demo videos are here: http://www.innosium.com/gallery.php For detail visit: www.innosium.com F-4-II, SIIC, IIT, KANPUR 208016. Phone: +91-9935389318. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
34. 34. 34 ECOLOGY BUSINESS IN INCUBATION CENTER AT IITK Habitat Mapping: Feel the Ecosystem Veerender Kumar [M Sc (Integrated)/Economics/Y7xxx] Human Habitat is the environment in which humans live. It includes the natural environment (like air, water, land, ecology); public infrastructure (like roads, electricity); local community; essential services (like schools, hospitals); local commerce; and government. Our Habitat directly determines our health and quality of life. The state of Habitat reflects how much we care about it. Philosophy Indian philosophy always espouses for establishing harmony among body, soul, and the world around us. Any kind of disharmony is considered to be a source of problems. Habitat mapping is a small effort towards understanding the human habitat and helping people connect with it. Further, identify the sources of disharmony with our habitat, and correct it with social participation. With this background, we can redefine sustainability in the context of human habitat, and sustainable development can become analogous to a sustainable habitat. Foundation A group of alumni and students of IIT Kanpur discussed for months on climate change, smarter cities, governance and came up with the concept of human habitat mapping. They formed a company named Arnium Technologies, and got it incubated at SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Center, IIT Kanpur. (http://www.iitk.ac.in/siic/) The founders were Shantanu Agarwal who has earlier led the team which developed Indias first Nanosatellite: Jugnu; Mayukh Chakraborty: a design graduate having many years of industrial experience in India and the US; Veerender Kumar: the founder of PoWER IIT Kanpur; Adarsh Jagannatha: an avid computer programmer and a system admin who spends most of his time in configuring and keeping the services up with the least errors and high availability; Sarvesh Kumar Singh: an avid programmer and game enthusiast who spends most of his time in exploring new web related technologies and experimenting with them; and Abhinav Tripathi: a techno-manager and a software architect with deep interest in public relations. The Beginning: Complaint Management System In the beginning, the idea of habitat mapping was under experimentation and the founders were toying with different approaches one of which was developing a social media and webGIS based platform to discuss parameters of essential municipal services. Using this platform, citizens can register their issues or July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
35. 35. 35 problems; government agencies (like Kanpur Nagar Nigam) can manage those issues; and both the stakeholders can arrive at a feasible solution. This system was cross platform and could be used over mobile, web, and Android. More features of habitat level interaction were planned to be rolled out later. A simplified version was proposed to IIT Kanpur which agreed to adopt and use it. With cooperation and funding from IITK, Arnium developed a web application using which campus residents can register their problems, and Institute Works Department can resolve them. The system is currently live and can be accessed over: http://cms.iitk.ac.in by the residents. It was expected that Kanpur Nagar Nigam would readily accept this system and use it. In order to give back to Kanpur, Arnium offered it for free to Kanpur Nagar Nigam and further offered many value added services too. Roadblocks Initially, the response of officials and elected representatives of Kanpur Nagar Nigam (KNN) was very positive and they were enthusiastic about using such a smart system. It was a motivating period for the team as well. Gradually, with time, when the system was deployed and made available to KNN for use, KNN officials started showing reluctance. Despite making many efforts by Arnium, and offering the entire service for free, KNN backed out of the deal. This was the most shocking moment for the entire team from which it could not recover for many months. Though the team met with certain ministers of the state government and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh but everything went in vain. Meanwhile, some of the founding members left the company leaving only Shantanu, Mayukh and Veerender as working members now. The Re-start Arnium approached new political movements like Aam Aadmi Party and was planning to implement such type of smart system in Delhi but the response was not positive. This forced the company to redesign its approach and come up with a new strategy. In the year 2014, Arnium changed its technology stack, rejuvenated its team, and came up with a fresh approach of passive data collection instead of active data collection without involving government agencies directly. In this phase the next aspect of human habitat: environment and infrastructure were targeted. Environmental Sensing at Ultra Low Cost Arnium came up with a fully functional prototype of Environmental Monitoring Device and deployed it outside its office. Next few months were spent on improving everything, making the device robust enough to withstand harsh Indian weather conditions at reduced cost and better reliability. With multiple substitutions, cost cutting and design improvements, cost of the device was brought down to less than 120 dollars making it the worlds cheapest Environmental Monitoring Device. It can be deployed in large numbers across the Indian urban space with such a low cost. The main features of this device are: Data sampling every 5 minutes. Fully automated with remote configuration settings. Designed for outdoor deployment across urban space (for example, in Kanpur, we have plans to deploy one device per four Sq. km) Ambiance Sensors for dust and noise. Air Quality Sensors for CO, Ozone, NOx; and H2S sensors at specific locations. Weather Sensors for temperature and relative humidity. Air Pressure Sensor for better accuracy of data. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
36. 36. 36 PCB with sensors; Battery on the back side Fan Filter Assembl Antenna Rain Gauze, Anemometer to be added in future. Ultra low cost device: 6000-8,000. 2 Year complete operational cost up to 10,000 per device which can be brought down to 8,000. Data is published over Habmap, and it can be used for free. Habitat Mapping Platform Arnium has plans to deploy 125 Environmental Monitoring Devices across Kanpur City. Data obtained from these devices will be published over Habmap: the Habitat Mapping Platform of Arnium which can be accessible over Web, Smart Phone, and Mobile applications. The types of data can be categorized into, Environment, Infrastructure using sensors Problems, issues reported by users Local art, culture, and heritage. Objective of a platform like Habmap is to: Facilitate community participation in solving problems, improving their environment or quality of life. Provide data to citizens, governments, and businesses for informed decision making. Promote local art, culture, heritage Roadmap Deploy five environmental monitoring devices in Kanpur by last week of June 2014. Launch the habitat mapping platform using which, the citizens can see environmental data from 5 places in the city; they can report, or discuss local issues like potholes, garbage, drainage, street light, and crime etc. Start crowd funding for Rs. 10-12 Lakhs to deploy 125 Environmental Monitoring Devices in Kanpur city by August 2014 Deploy Environmental Monitoring Devices in Kanpur city, make data available to everyone: End of September to October 2, 2014 Crowd funding for Public Good Arnium has plans to deploy sensors across Indian Urban Space at a large scale so as to provide people ultra-local habitat data for free that too in real-time. Deployment of Environmental Monitoring Sensors or Sensors for infrastructure is going to create public good which will ultimately benefit the society. July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
37. 37. 37 For the first city in this project, Kanpur, we have set a target of Rs 10-12 lakh for crowd funding. If we achieve 50% of the target in the next 2-3 months, we are hopeful that we can replicate this model in other target cities and start crowdfunding for one million dollars or Rs 6 crores. In every city we target, we will partner with a large number of educational, health, media, and non-government organizations. This should bring in more and more organizations as partners and increase the user base as well as number of contributors. We have set a target of 10,000 users in 4-5 months with an investment of ten lakhs (this covers only marginal costs). If we achieve this target, our venture will become a hot property for investment. Since we will be providing all our information for free, we are hopeful of generating a good user base. Appeal to the Alumni of IITK Please adopt your habitat and make it the most environmentally friendly part of your city by using the latest technology. Arnium will partner with you in this endeavor and provide the necessary support. Arnium also invites your support for improving other Indian cities. A small amount of Rs 6 crore can fund access to real-time environmental data to more than 25 of the largest cities covering over 10% of our population. If you are a politician or a bureaucrat then we request you to use our services for free, and we will be more than eager to partner with you in your endeavor to improve the living conditions of the Indian cities & towns where ever you are. Contact Us Regd. Office: 128, Somdutt Chamber-II, 9, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110066. R&D Office: E103/E104, SIIC Extension, IIT Kanpur 208016. Website :www.arnium.com Email: contact@arnium.com Mobile: +91-993633564 +91-9598000888 July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
38. 38. 38 STARTUP IN KOLKATA Ecofriendly E-Waste Disposal A New Field in Technology Management with Environmental Concern Abhinav Prateek (Y8/Mech/Y8xxx) abhinav.prateek@avshesh.com Science and technology have advanced without our complete understanding of its consequences. For example, when nuclear technology was in a development stage, no one had foreseen disasters like Chernobyl or Fukushima which affected lives across generations and rendered the areas around them uninhabitable with a constant source of harmful radiation for the entire planet. The three Rs:- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle emphasize that we, Reduce consumption, Reuse as much as possible, and Recycle waste so that the burden on Earths natural resources can be reduced. The last R, which is recycling of waste brings to the fore Waste Management, which is highly relevant now. India generates a total of 80 million tons of waste annually out of which approx. 80,000 tons is E-waste. But what happens to this waste? Dumping and discarding through informal routes leads to environmental hazards. Similarly when advances in Electronics and Electrical industry had been made, no one had wondered what would happen to these products at the end of their life cycle. It is mandatory that as a responsible citizen we get it directed only through the formal sector, which has an appropriate setup to recycle and convert it into something useful. It was in the month of February13 that I, along with my partner had a discussion on E-Waste Management, and we decided to make a business venture in this field. E-Waste consists of discarded electrical and electronic devices annually. There are 97 government authorized E-Waste recyclers in India, but somehow it does not reach them and most of it flows into the unorganized sector, leaving the well regulated facilities underutilized. Exploring further we realized that there is a severe lack of a reverse supply chain for effective movement of E-Waste. Also, the recyclers access to E-Waste generators is very limited, although the generators are willing to transfer the responsibility of E-Waste disposal to an agency, which can also get them better value for their material. It was out of these requirements that Avshesh was born. Avshesh is a digital platform that connects waste generators to recyclers, ensuring that waste gets disposed in a regulated and India generates a total of 80 million tons of waste annually out of which approx. 80,000 tons is E-waste. But what happens to this waste? July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
39. 39. 39 environmental friendly way. Moreover, through an innovative e-auction platform we try to get our clients better value for their E-Waste. We also aim to educate people about the hazards of E-Waste and requirement of its safe disposal. Avshesh is a brand which is owned by Metamorf Waste Pvt. Ltd. It was founded in association with Ankit Agrawal. One of our team members who looks after marketing and sales, and the other handles operations, which primarily involves asset inventorization at the clients site. I did my B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and was working with Personal Care Division of ITC when we first discussed the idea. I have been associated with Avshesh since May, 2014. Ankit completed his B.Tech. in Computer Science Engineering in 2013 before joining. As an organization we began operations a couple of months back when we launched it formally with a Business-to-Business model. We have tasted success and have completed the entire process for our first client, which is an IT company based in Bhubaneswar. Avshesh employs a simple B2B marketing strategy, in which our representative goes and presents Avshesh and its services to the concerned persons of the organization. We provide a one stop solution to offload the task of E-Waste disposal. This is the first time that a company has ventured into providing end to end management of E-Waste disposal. We take our commission from the generators of E- waste for providing this service. It is the uniqueness of this proposition that had propelled us to launch this venture. Currently, there is no other player who offers such a service. We are on the lookout for funding so that we can expand our operations to Delhi, Bombay, and Bangalore. Currently we are based in Kolkata and are exploring the eastern markets. We aim to launch our Business-to-Consumer model in the near future. We also intend to empower the informal sector by associating them with us as collectors of E-Waste, which we can further redirect through the formal sector. The retail market is the most difficult to tap, and this market faces the greatest difficulty in disposing of their waste formally because of lack of such channels at the household level. I appeal to the alumni that they can do their part by trying to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. To reduce Indias growing mound of waste and to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come, please contact Abhinav by phone on +91 9874627685 or by Email: abhinav.prateek@avshesh.com Avshesh offers: 1. Asset inventorization 2. Asset valuation, and its marketing amongst recyclers registered on our platform 3. Conduction of e-auction 4. Coordination between the winner and the seller for payment 5. Pickup and certificate realization July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
40. 40. 40 , - (BT/EE/ 67xxx) editiitkemag@yahoo.in Sketch: Shibika Choudhary shibika@gmail.com July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
41. 41. 41 ARTIST ON CAMPUS Some paintings by Mrs. Radha Harish Radha Harish graduated as an electronics engineer, with a deep passion for art. Her husband's (Prof A R HARISH, EE IITK) constant support helped her pursue art seriously. She received her art education from the Open College of the Arts, Thames Valley University, UK. Her work has been selected in the exhibitions in India and the UK. During the Golden Jubilee year of IITK, she was commissioned to produce pen and ink sketches of various buildings there. Apart from drawing and painting, she also enjoys illustrating for books, classical music, designing pop up greeting cards, and needlework. Artist's Statement: "I consider Nature as the greatest Artist. Everything about Nature has fascinated me: from a mere dewdrop to a rainbow... I find colour exciting! This is what stimulates me to portray Nature in all her dazzling glory." July 2014 VOICES emag of the alumni of IITK
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