INR 5 lac for runners-up Envision’07

An interview with Rachit Agarwal and Prabhash Choudhary, Team VIDA, who were runners up in Envision ’07 during Esummit. Envision is a product design and prototyping contest conducted by the Entrepreneurship Cell. TePP has approved an initial funding of Rs. 5 lacs for their product’s testing phase .

Excerpts from the interview:

TE: First of all, congratulations on the funding. What helped you ideate and come up with your novel bioreactor?
VIDA (their team) : Well, as such there were four people involved in this project – Prabash Choudhary, Sumit Jaiswal, Pawan Kumar and myself. Three of us were working in a biotech company for our summer internship, and as a side project were given the task of building a bioreactor. After coming back we realized that the bioreactor had great potential, and when ‘Envision’ came along, we decided to pursue it. After many modifications and with help from our mentor Prof. S. Dey [Dept. Of Biotechnology], we completed the project and submitted it, coming second in the competition.

TE: So, how was the feeling when you heard that your TePP proposal had been approved?
VIDA: It feels great. We really hadn’t thought about the proposal being approved, after such a long time since the competition. But yes, it does feel good. We along with Prof. Dey mentoring us, will get back to the project now.

TE: What are the advantages that your product has over other competitors?
VIDA: As such there are two widely used plant bioreactors, RITA and Growtek. Both these bioreactors have their own pros and cons, and are expensive. RITA, which is widely used in developed countries, costs around Rs. 3,500 for a single unit, while Growtek, developed by Prof. S Dey here at the Dept. of Biotechnology, costs about Rs. 280 per unit. Our bioreactor, on the other hand, will cost only about Rs. 35 per unit, making it much more affordable considering that research in this area is very expensive. What we did, was to make a product that was not only significantly cheaper but combined both of their functionalities.

TE: So filing and acquiring the patent must be your top priority now?
VIDA: It most definitely is, especially after the recent developments. I am already in touch with the lawyer.

TE: What are your future plans?
VIDA: We will first get a prototype ready and check out whether it satisfies the data we have collected. Development of plant bioreactors can be a little complicated, and we need to get test data first. It takes a significant amount of time, since we need to grow plants to test the reactors. We will think about recruiting some 2nd and 3rd years to help us out as well.
TE: So, was your ultimate aim while making the product, a profit making business model or a viable alternative for research which is inexpensive?
VIDA: The product is definitely aimed at research although it can generate profits as well. Yes, we will target developing countries with this product. This being a good alternative to the expensive
reactors used now.
TE: And how would you sum up the contribution of Envision and E-Cell?
VIDA: It is definitely different. A lot of people have ideas to improve products, which may not qualify as Bplans or technical plans, but are definitely marketable products. Even something like an improvement in mobile phone cover design could figure in that list. What Envision has successfully managed to do, is cater to this segment of people.
TE: Well, congratulations again and thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Carbon Trading

“Clean money for dirty air” – that’s the premise of an emerging trade in carbon credits. In simply words, it signifies the trade of polluting gases which is gaining increasing impetus in India with heightened emphasis being put on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the environment.

So what exactly is carbon credit? The concept of carbon credit, is that of incentivising the industrial units which pollute less, and disincentivising those that pollute more. A central authority, fixes a limit to the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted into the environment. This permit or credit or allowances, gives licenses to emit a fixed amount of pollutant into the environment. Now, if a company say SRF, emits only eight units of greenhouse gases out of the 10 units allotted to it, then SRF will have two units of emission as ‘credit outstanding’ in its ‘pollution’ account. On the other hand, if a company say MRF, emits 14 units instead of the 12 units allotted to it, then MRF will have two units of ‘debit balance’ in its ‘pollution’ account. In such a case, SRF will be able to transfer its two ‘credit balance’ to the two ‘debit balance’ account of MRF. So, both the companies’ pollution account will be matched, and the environment too is able to digest a certain scientifically fixed amount of pollutants. This transfer, from SRF to MRF will be for some monetary consideration, and hence it is referred to as carbon trading.

The value of the carbon trading market was around $30 billion in 2006 as per estimates of the International Emissions trading Association. Almost all industrialized countries, are huge buyers of carbon credit, and all developing countries where industrialization has not reached its peak, are supplier of carbon credit. Japan is the largest buyer of carbon credit, while India and Brazil are amongst the largest suppliers of carbon credit.

With Indian economic growth based mainly on energy from fossil fuels such as coal, there is considerable potential for reducing greenhouse gases, and for CDM projects. Most of the beneficiaries of the carbon trading, are those companies that are investing in windmills, Biodiesel, and Biogas. Actually, by investing in such an alternative, non-polluting source of energy, these companies will earn carbon credit in the form of CER’s (Certified Emissions Reductions), equivalent to the amount of environmental pollution they have prevented. These CER’s could be sold by Indian companies,
to companies, say in Japan, at market prevailing rate of CER’s, and thus make profit.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, estimates the potential for CDM projects in India to be about 300 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which includes 90 million tonnes from renewable energy sources alone. Listed Indian companies are already reaping sizeable profits through CER deals. Carbon trading has brought a huge opportunity for Indian companies. Companies can earn CER’s by adopting energy saving and environment protection methods, and in turn can earn huge incomes by selling them. Its how cleverly these companies make use of this opportunity, that could give them a boost in their businesses.

Vision India 2020- MIT India

For the article by Sramana Mitra please refer to:
MIT India