IIT-Kanpur Graduate's Innovation Is Helping Farmers Increase Shelf Life Of Agricultural Produce

A new innovation has been helping the farmers increase the shelf life of agricultural produce such as fruits and vegetables from three to 30 days.

All this is possible because of a start-up by an IIT Kanpur graduate that bagged the first prize at Schaeffler India's Social Innovator Fellowship Program in Pune on Friday.

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¡°The device consumes much less electricity than a refrigerator. The product has become a big hit in several cities in the country and I am very happy that my idea has won appreciation,¡± Nikky Jha from Bhagalpur in Bihar, who won Rs 5,00,000 for the innovation, told The Indian Express.

11 wining ideas out of 150 entries

Schaeffler India, a leading industrial and automotive supplier, announced 11 winning ideas from over 150 entries that were shortlisted in areas such as education for the underprivileged, health & nutrition, renewable energy & environment, water conservation and waste management.

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The other winners are Neha Tuli, Purva Parwani, Swalih C I, Shilpa K Nayana, Himanshu Gupta, Aditya Srinivas, Deepak Rajmohan, Lakshmanan, Ardra S Nair and Sulem Ansari. They received Rs 1,00,000 each.

Schaeffler, Buddy4Study collaborated

Schaeffler partnered with Buddy4Study, India's largest scholarship platform that connects scholarship and education loan providers with seekers, for the fellowship programme which was announced in the third quarter of 2021.

All the 11 winners will undergo an eight-week hybrid mentorship at the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad.

The Indian Express

Schaeffler India said it would collaborate with winners and provide them access to its network to create more opportunities.

The jury comprised Harsha Kadam, managing director and CEO, Schaeffler India; Santanu Ghoshal, vice president (HR) and head of Sustainability India and eminent social entrepreneur and Ramon Magsaysay award winner Anshu Gupta, the founder of Goonj, an NGO that undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development.

Innovation leads to growth

While congratulating the winners, Harsha Kadam said that Innovation and development lead to growth but equitable innovation is the key to inclusive growth.

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¡°It is heartening to see so many passionate ideas aided by technology, potentially positively impacting the social fabric. We are seeing technology disruptions all around us promoting growth and holistic development and at Schaeffler India, we are conscious of this fact and therefore announced this platform.¡±

Santanu Ghoshal said: ¡°We are deeply committed to advancing the prosperity and progress of our communities. The Schaeffler India Social Innovator Fellowship Program aims to harness and support the pioneering spirit of young and passionate innovators across India to bring improvements to social and ecological issues.

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