1. RADICAL RESOURCE EFFICIENT
INNOVATIONS IN INDIA March 2013
Finpro India team:
- CASE SUMMARIES
Ambika Oberoi,
Dharmesh Sharan

2. Case 1- Forus Health: Making Community
Ophthalmology a Reality
Mission: To address the healthcare delivery crisis in the developing world through innovative and
inclusive product design and service deployment.
Solution:
•3nethra – A single, portable, intelligent, non-invasive, non-mydriatic eye pre-screening device that can
detect 5 major ailments constituting 90% of blindness- Diabetic retinopathy, cataract, glaucoma, cornea
problems and refractive errors
•Provides an automated “Normal" or "Need to See a Doctor" report, which is useful especially during early
onset of an eye disease when patients do not experience symptoms
•Connects primary care centres to secondary or tertiary care centres through telemedicine for remote
diagnosis
•Device is low-cost and hence greatly reduces direct and indirect cost of screening, making it available to
rural population

3. Case 1- Forus Health
Innovation Quotient:
Innovation Quotient:
Affordable technology solutions that can easily be used by aaminimally trained technician, thereby making
Affordable technology solutions that can easily be used by minimally trained technician, thereby making
health service accessible and scalable. The device costs 1/6 thththe price of devices currently available in the
health service accessible and scalable. The device costs 1/6 the price of devices currently available in the
market.
market.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•Forus has already done 30 installations across the country which include many
leading ophthalmology institutions
•It is also building cloud-based data centres which will connect doctors with
patients even from the remotest locations in India.
•Besides pre-screening of eye diseases, Forus is aiming to build technology that
can scan the retina to detect early symptoms of diabetes, cardiovascular,
nephrology and neurological problems
3nethra -An intelligent
pre-screening
Ophthalmology device
Forus is focusing on the low-cost, high-volume zone to ultimately move patients out of hospitals to health
kiosks and camps, which also increases rural outreach. Its USP is that anyone can be trained to operate it
— Forus suggests undergraduates from the local population since local skilling also provides rural jobs
while freeing up doctors for more specialised functions.

4. Case 2- Narayana Hrudayalaya: Affordable,
Quality Healthcare for the Poor
Mission: A dream to making quality healthcare accessible to the masses worldwide.
Solution:
•Patients are charged flat $1500 for heart surgery compared to $4500 on average, charged by other
hospitals. 23 cardiac surgeries per day compared with 4-5 by other major hospitals.
•Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH) has an innovative medical insurance scheme under which patients who cannot
afford to pay can be covered.
•Low point does not mean quality is compromised – NH has 95% success rate in heart surgeries and is one
of the well renowned hospitals for paediatric cardiac care.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•Narayana Hrudayalaya currently runs 5,500 beds across 14 hospitals in 11 cities, all under one brand. NH
aims to add 30,000 beds in small to medium sized towns in the next 5 years.
•Dr. Shetty plans to replicate his low-cost model globally. In a step towards this, NH is setting up a 150-bed
hospital in Cayman Islands, and in Miami through a JV with a local firm. In India, they plan to set up hospitals
in all Indian towns with a population of 0.5-1 million.

5. Case 2- Narayana Hrudayalaya
Innovation Quotient: Internal process innovation
•Dr. Devi Shetty who pioneered the low-cost treatment model says the lower cost is achievable if
hospitals increased the number of procedures by 1000 times. The volume will be generated by the
poor who cannot afford the current treatment cost but will soon have a smart card with health
insurance provided by the govt. High volumes help doctors enhance their specialization skills,
resulting in better treatment results.
•Vertical approach towards specialization – (1) specialized cardiologists for better, faster treatment
(2) high school educated women are trained in taking ECG which unblocks doctors for performing
specialized tasks.
•NH has invested in use of data- management team gets P/L statement daily and can search down to
micro level, e.g., how many surgeries were conducted on a particular day at a specified OT in a
specified centre, how many sutures were used etc. This helps NH identify major cost components and
how to address them thus bringing further cost efficiencies.
•NH hospitals are built at a fraction of industry cost – land is obtained at concessional rates from the
govt, hospitals do not have air-conditioning but good cross-ventilation. NH has kept the design
compact, reduced empty spaces and used prefabricated structures. Instead of marbles and expensive
furniture, the hospital uses simple tiles and low-cost seating, thereby significantly reducing the cost
per bed.
•NH also reduced capital expenditure by buying low-cost medical equipment from small Indian firms
and having a pay-per-use model for the more expensive ones. Also, the electricity bill is expected to
be much lower due to the absence of elevators and air-conditioning as well as better use of natural
light.
•At its Mysore facility, being run like a start-up, the hospital will outsource some activities requiring
special skill-sets like tele-radiology to its main hospital to ensure optimal utilisation of specialists.
Similarly, activities such as claims processing, discharge summary preparation would also be
outsourced to the larger NH facilities. The hospital aims to break even in 8 months of operation and
once successful, will be replicated elsewhere.

6. Case 2- Narayana Hrudayalaya
NH Jaipur- Intensive Care Unit
NH Multispecialty and Mazumdar Shaw Cancer
Center, Bangalore
Infant cardiac care
Proposed NH health city – Ahmedabad
According to Dr. Devi Shetty -the cost of healthcare in India can come down by 50% in the next 5-10 years,
and this will be forced on the hospitals by the government if service providers do not get their act together.

7. Case 3- Aravind Eye Care: Affrordable Eye
Care
Mission: Eliminate needless blindness by making high quality ophthalmic products affordable and
accessible to the vision impaired worldwide
Solution:
•Aravind is the largest eye care provider in the world both in terms of service delivery and training. Most
doctors at Aravind carry out an average of 2600 operations per year, compared with ~400 operations in
other Indian hospitals.
•Aravind Eye Care System today encompasses a network of eight eye hospitals, 40 vision centres in rural
areas, seven community eye clinics, a PG Institute of Ophthalmology, a manufacturing centre for
ophthalmic products (Aurolab), an international eye research institute (Dr G Venkataswamy Eye Research
Institute), eye banks and a resource as well as a training centre (LAICO) that is revolutionising hundreds of
eye care programmes across the developing world.
•More than 300 ophthalmologists and 600 paramedical workers are trained every year in different subspecialities of ophthalmology.
•Aravind improves operational efficiency by allowing surgeons to work on two tables – while one surgery is
progressing, a team of nurses and paramedical staff prepare the next patient for surgery, allowing Aravind
to perform cataract surgery in 10 minutes. Despite the shared spaces, Aravind has kept its infection rates
low- at an average of 4 cases per 10,000.
•Its manufacturing division-Aurolab- enables Aravind to produce such materials as intra-ocular lenses
(IOLs) for a fraction of the import price thus making further cost savings. Aurolab is one of the largest
global producers of IOLs exporting to 120 countries with a global market share of 7.8%.

8. Case 3- Aravind Eye Care
Innovation Quotient: Innovative Operational Process
•A core principle of the Aravind System is that the hospital must provide services to the rich and poor alike,
yet be financially self-supporting. This principle is achieved through high quality, large volume care and a
well-organized system.
•Aravind provides free services to 70% of its patients, a subsidy that is financed by the full-fee services
provided to wealthier individuals. Differential pricing is established by a patient's choice of amenities (private
rooms vs. open dormitories) and the type of lens that is to be inserted into the eye (hard vs. soft).
Current Status and Future Plans:
•In the year ending March 2012, Aravind handled 2,838,689 outpatient visits and performed 349,274
•surgeries – a 10% increase from the previous year.
•Aravind’s limited network of facilities currently provides close to 40% of all eye care in Tamil Nadu
•In view of the new patient trends, a decision was taken to expand Aravind’s network, starting with those
areas from which high numbers of patients were traveling significantly to reach Aravind. This led to the setting
up of a large tertiary care Aravind Hospital in Salem, an eye clinic in Pondicherry, a series of new vision
centres was opened at Pongalur, Oothukuli, Srivilliputhur and Kadayanallur, two hospitals in Tuticorin and
Udumalpet.
•Aravind aims to perform one million surgeries and grow to 100 hospitals by 2015. The organization plans to
sustain its growth and double its service delivery capacity by 2022 by expanding to new locations, expanding
the telemedicine technology‐based primary eye care model for universal coverage, and expanding follow up
of patients with chronic eye diseases. Better systems for the diagnosis and management of chronic diseases
like Glaucoma, Diabetic, Retinopathy, and age related Muscular Degeneration would also be created. There
will be different centres of excellence in specialty eye care services through pioneering clinical and basic
science research.

9. Case 3- Aravind Eye Care
Simultaneous surgeries at Aravind
Manufacturing intra-ocular lenses at Aurolab
Aravind has the latest techniques in R & D
A bus full of patients returning to their village
outside Madurai after successful surgeries

10. Case 4- GVK Emergency Management & Research
Institute: Affordable Access to Emergency Healthcare
Vision: Provide emergency response services under PPP model, respond to 30 million emergencies
saving 1 million lives annually. Deliver services at global standards through leadership, innovation,
technology, research and training.
Solution:
•Innovative delivery model of emergency response services (for Medical, Police and Fire emergencies)
under PPP (Public Private Partnership) structure that provides emergency and pre ‐hospital care free of
charge to the patient through a mix of government and private funding

11. Case 4- GVK EMRI
Innovative Service Delivery

12. Case 4- GVK EMRI
Current Status and Future Plans:
•Handles over 165,000 Emergency Calls/day, manages over 12,500 dispatches per day and saves over 300
lives daily
•Coverage:
States : 12 States and 2 UTs
Districts : 225
Villages : 1,97,464
•Reach
108 ambulances : 3227
Emergencies : 12,500 per day
•Care
Total lives saved : 5,45,027
Deliveries assisted : 1,74,314
•Manpower:
Total Manpower : 17,655

13. Case 4- GVK Emergency Management &
Research Institute
GVK EMRI ambulance
GVK EMRI infrastructure utilized for
disaster management- floods in Andhra
Pradesh
GVK EMRI ambulance- interior
GIS/GPS for speedy reach

14. Case 5- Jaipur Foot (Affordable Prosthetic Limb)
Mission:
•To provide limbs, calipers, other aids and appliances to as many of such disabled, as possible, at its
centres, and through its outreach programmes and rehabilitation camps.
•To provide financial and other support for a select few for the economic and social rehabilitation of the
disabled, particularly through low-cost quick-maturing livelihood and employment schemes
•To undertake and promote R & D for improving existing artificial limbs, calipers, aids and appliances and
develop new ones to improve quality and reduce cost of devices.
Solution:
•Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) was set up as a formally registered society in Jaipur
in 1975 to help the handicapped especially the resourceless.
•BMVSS is the largest organisation for the handicapped in the world in terms of fitment of artificial limbs
and callipers etc. to the handicapped.
•All artificial limbs, callipers, crutches, ambulatory aids like wheelchairs, hand paddled tricycles and other
aids, appliances are provided free of charge to the physically challenged
•Jaipur foot was made of locally available material – rubber of different types, wood etc.; the limb could be
made at short notice- at times, within one day. The socket was made of aluminium making the limb
comparatively lighter. The end result was a multi-flex foot closest to the human foot in functional terms.

15. Case 5- Jaipur Foot
Innovation Quotient:
•Jaipur foot is the only non-articulated foot in the world that provides mobility in all three planes, i.e., dorsiflexion, inversion/eversion and transverse rotation. It enables amputees to walk, run, trek, swim, squat, sit
cross-legged, walk on uneven terrain, work in wet muddy fields etc. With it a below-knee amputee can climb
a tree or mountain. it is the most widely used prosthetic foot in the world.
•BMVSS provides limbs, aids and appliances (wheelchairs, hand-paddled tricycles, clutches etc) to all
disabled beneficiaries at its centres free of cost. Currently the average cost of Jaipur limb to BMVSS is ~USD
45 against the reported price of USD 12,000 for a comparable limb in the USA.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•BMVSS fits 17,000-20,000 artificial limbs every year
•~40-50 on-the-spot-limb-fitment-mobile-camps are organised every year across the country reaching out to
the disadvantaged in lesser connected areas
•BMVSS has 21 branches pan-India and has supported >30 artificial limb fitting independent institutions
through technology transfer and training of personnel.
•Camps have also been organised in 20 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America fitting >15,000 artificial
limbs
•Constant efforts are made towards technology upgradation, for instance, through structural changes in
design, use of different types of rubber for foot pieces, aluminium sockets have been replaced by lighter, high
quality polymers. Latest standard alignment systems like wall frames, laser liners, brims have been blended
with Jaipur limb technology.
•BMVSS has been given Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United
Nations Organisation.

16. Case 5- Jaipur Foot
Jaipur limb
Persons with fitted artificial limbs
Jaipur foot camp for free distribution
First model of artificial hand is
being developed by Stanford
University in association with
BMVSS. The model is being
developed below elbow capable of
performing any actions. After the
first sample, final version will be
available in few months.
Jaipur foot enables
persons to cycle

17. Case 6- Indianblooddonors.com:
Blood via Internet and SMS
Mission:
Indianblooddonors.com (IBD) is a site that lets blood donors and patients in need of blood connect with each
other almost instantaneously. ‘One call, one donor’.
Solution:
When you dial the IBD number(+919665500000), a recorded message gives you the option to choose
between Hindi and English and once you choose your language, you are guided through a few recorded
messages that enable you to select the blood group you require and get the contact number of a donor.
Simultaneously, the donor also gets a message that informs him/her that you will be getting in touch,
shortly. For every call you make you get the contact details of one donor. “One call, one donor”. If that
donor is unable to donate for some reason, you can call once again and you will get another donor’s
contact number. The call to this particular number can be made from any mobile or landline.

18. Case 6- Indianblooddonors.com
Innovation Quotient: Use of affordable modern technology to help a social cause
Dial for blood: 07961907766
SMS: DONOR<space>STD CODE<space>Blood Group to 09665500000
Log on to: Indianblooddonors.com
•IBD proves that making a difference and sustaining an enterprise isn’t all about money.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•Through their website and SMS service, IBD have reached out to over 60,000 people in need of blood
•Indianblooddonors.com is not an NGO; it works on a no-funds model. They do not accept money or
donations. They only want an increasingly number of people to register with them as donors. A free line was
given to IBD by an Ahmedabad based company called Awaaz de. They have been functioning for 12 years
without a revenue model .
•IBD has plans to introduce the dial for blood service in regional languages as well. They also intend to
launch a mobile app on blood donation for android users.
“It was the 2001 Gujarat earthquake that turned out to be the game changer. On the day of the quake,
watching images of devastation unfold, Khushroo Poacha, an office superintendent with Indian Railways
had a brainwave: he called Zee News and convinced them to flash the site’s name on their ticker. In three
days, he had almost 4,000 registrations.”

19. Case 6- Indianblooddonors.comSigning up

20. Case 6- Indianblooddonors.com
Indian Blood Donors motto is: “We make a living by what we get,
but we make a life by what we give.” If u Need Blood Donors,
just SMS. SMS DONOR (STD Code) (Blood Group) to
+919665500000. You will get one donors number and his/her
name on your mobile. Your Number will also be SMSed to the
Donor. Once you get the Donors name and number. Call the
donor with all the details of the blood Donation. Then SMS again
you will get another donors profile. Before you SMS you should
know the Blood Group you need.
Using social media to spread the word, coordinate blood
requests. A similar effort is underway through
www.plateletdonors.org

21. Case 7- SELCO Solar Pvt Ltd.
(Livelihood Generation through Solar Energy)
Mission:
•To enhance the quality of life of underserved households and livelihoods by creating appropriate linkages
between technology, finance and operational innovations.
Solution:
•Technology: SELCO systems utilize solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to provide electricity for lighting,
water pumping, communications, computing, entertainment, and small business appliances. These
products can be purchased by individual homes and businesses and do not require connection to a larger
network. They also design larger commercial/industrial systems to meet specialized applications.
•Finance: SELCO has forged partnerships with nine regional rural banks, commercial banks, NGOs and
rural farmer cooperatives to develop financial solutions. SELCO helps its customers obtain the necessary
credit to purchase solar lighting and thermal systems. Interest rates are based on the credit source and
range from 5% to 14%. Customers typically put between 10-25% down, paying the balance over three to
five years.
•Services: Upon the purchase of every system, each SELCO customer receives the following services:
Custom system design, Installation, Training on proper system use, After-sales maintenance and support

22. Case 7- SELCO Solar Pvt Ltd.
Innovation Quotient:
•Unique business model which brings the benefits of clean energy at an affordable price to rural India through
financial and technological innovation
•SELCO offers doorstep servicing in addition to doorstep financing
Current Status and Future Plans:
•SELCO currently employs about 170 employees in Karnataka and Gujarat spread across 25 energy service
centers. Since 1995, they have sold, serviced and financed over 115,000 solar systems to their customers.
•SELCO has leveraged the potential of the country’s significant rural banking system to finance sustainable
energy systems for poor rural households. Over the years, SELCO has forged partnerships with nine regional
rural banks, commercial banks, NGOs and rural farmer cooperatives to develop financial solutions.
Partners:
•Technology- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineers Without Borders, Engineers for Social Impact, S.D.M
Institute of Technology
•Community based organisations- Bharitiya Vikas Trust, Bangalore Rural Educational and Development Society,
Shree Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development, Sakhi Retail Pvt. Ltd, Adhikar, Myrada
•Finance- Syndicate Bank, Karnataka Vikas Grameen bank (KVGB), Vijaya Bank, Canara Bank, Pragathi Grameen
bank, Krishna Grameen bank, Vavasahaya Sahakari Seva Sangha Bank Niyamitha, Sri Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank
Ltd. (SEWA Bank), Cauvery Kalpatharu Grameen Bank, Chikmagalur-Kodagu Grameena Bank, Pragathi Grameen
Bank, Vyavasaya Seva Sahakara Bank Niyamitha (VSSN), Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services, Hamsa Chaitanya
Souhardha Credit Co-op. Society, Karnataka Bank
•Carbon- The CarbonNeutral Company
•International- Global Village Energy Partnership, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, UNEP,
Clinton Global Initiative, Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation, Ashden Awards
•Holistic- Mahila Housing Trust, SEWA Bank, Small Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development

23. Case 7-SELCO
Livelihood Generation through Solar Energy
Need: A local sewing training institute dependent on erratic
electricity supply, affecting productivity, income, training hours
SELCO Solution:
Technology- Creating a 50:50 solar grid powered sewing
machine with additional features that works 5hrs/day
Financial- Collaboration with financial institution to provide 5year customized loan plan for purchase of 5 sewing
machines.
Impact: Increased income, bonus earnings from additional
features on machine, saving on electricity bill, quicker loan
repayment.
Solar Booth: Charging a
mobile phone at the
booth costs INR 5. Solar
lanterns and solar
batteries can be leased
from here for INR 10 a
day
Replicable innovative financial
mechanism for renewable energy
financing

24. Case 8- Onergy
(decentralized energy solutions to villages)
Mission: ONergize” 1 million lives by 2016
Solution:
•ONergy is a renewable energy venture providing complete decentralized energy solutions to BoP across
rural India.
•Onergy provides reliable and affordable clean energy products across lighting, cooking and electrification
•They build an ecosystem which connects technology, finance and grassroot organizations – to manage the
needs, aspirations and resources of rural BoP beneficiaries.
•ONergy aims to empower its customer by providing a complete package of product, service and
consumer financing through Grameen banks, cooperative societies, commercial banks and micro-finance
institutions.

25. Case 8- ONergy
Innovation Quotient: Innovative distribution and pricing
•Complete energy solutions and customisation – after understanding customer needs and pain points
•Affordability – by linking finances and installment payment through MFIs and Banks.
•Low cost distribution network – ONergy has the cheapest solar system in the market available to the
consumer without compromising on quality.
•Infrastructure & Network for servicing
•Holistic approach to development through Training, and linking energy to dev. working with NGO – Switch
ON
Impact (until March 2012)

26. Case 8- ONergy
Home lighting system priced INR 2000
onwards. Home electrification system
priced INR 10,000 onwards
Solar lights: Sun King, Sun King Pro priced
INR 850-2000
Solar water heaters priced INR 16,000
onwards
•
•
Solar street lights
Solar inverter solution for community level
electrification (200W-kW level) priced INR
25000 onwards

27. Case 9- Thrive Energy Technologies (TET)
(High Quality, Affordable Lighting for BoP)
Mission:
•Serving the most needy in forests, villages and towns with lighting products
•Providing high quality lighting products at affordable prices
•Livelihood and Employment generation through energy entrepreneurs in every village
•Reducing environment pollution through kerosene replacement with solar lights
•Giving higher value to the various partners and stakeholders.
Solution:
•TET is an independent Renewable Energy Solutions & Technology provider focusing primarily on Solar
Photovoltaic Applications
•TET specializes in solid state lighting (LED based) products and solar based power systems that help
provide clean lighting, reduce carbon emissions and assure higher levels of productivity in rural and urban
vocations. It has developed a range of innovative lighting products that help not only communities living in
small rural/forest households with no electricity supply but also large urban institutions that consume
megawatts of electricity.

28. Case 9- Thrive Energy Technologies
Innovation Quotient: Innovative Business Model
•Keep the supply chain as short as possible by avoiding middlemen
•Customized financing mechanisms to help the poor to acquire and own the light
Current Status and Future Plans:
TET has established its presence in over 15 countries in Asia and Africa through local partners, self help
groups, charity organisations and NGOs to implement the below projects –
•Village Solar Energy Centre for rural poor: one female youth from each village manages the Solar Energy.
Kiosk. TET facilitates the SHGs to obtain loan from a Rural bank to buy the Solar Lights which are re-charged
at the Village Solar Energy Centre.
•Village lighting through MFI
•Lighting to BoP with bank loan facility
•Solar home lighting program for rural India
•Provision of Solar LED Study Lights for Children through the OneChildOneLight™ Initiative
Partners:
•Partnerships with local and International Funding Agencies: World Bank (Disaster Relief project in Haiti),
UNDP (Kenya), UNIDO (Kenya and Eritrea) , UNAMA (Afghanistan), CHF International, and FWWBAhmadabad.
•Partnerships with NGOs like ESAF, Swetcha, Gram Vikas, Vignan Ashram, S3idf, Ankuran for various
village level programs.
•Partnership with organizations: Various organizations like KSK Energy, Pepsi co, ONGC, Wipro, Jindal
steels, and Infosys have distributed Accendo lights under CSR activities. Village outlets of Coromandel
Fertilizers were provided with solar backup for their MIS.
•Partnership with Micro Finance Institutions: Many MFIs like SKS, WSDS, Chanura, Ori, Machelaima,
IDPMS, and VVD have collaborated with TET for empowering their members.
•Partnership with Government agencies

29. Case 9- Thrive Energy Technologies
Customized financing mechanisms to help
the poor to acquire and own the light
Independent, full fledged divisions for
community projects, carbon credit’s related
work, street lighting, solar power packs

30. Case 10- Avaz
(Augmentative & Alternative Communication)
Mission:
The innovators of Avaz did not want to just create a technological device – they wanted to create an artificial
voice with all of the features that others(who are verbal) take for granted.
Solution:
Avaz is a device effective for participants with complex communication needs. It is effective for all AAC
users following a formal academic curriculum, with or without modifications, who can use the device directly
with the touch screen to:
oParticipate actively and effectively in the classroom by answering questions independently.
oExpress their creative ideas through compositional work and
oCommunicate effectively in social interactions with familiar people and stranger.
oThe AVAZ rental program allows users full access to the device without having to pay the total amount up
front. If they decide to purchase the device after the rental period, the full amount or a portion of rental cost
will be deducted from the purchase price

31. Case 10- Avaz
Innovation Quotient: The inventor of Avaz was named one of the MIT TR Innovators of 2011. This
prestigious recognition is given to those innovators who are looking at important problems in a transformative
way. Avaz was the first product in the disability category to be awarded the MIT TR35 recognition.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•In May 2010, Avaz was re-written as an app for Android, and, bundled with an Android tablet, it was
launched in the Indian market. Between 2010 and 2012, it became an integral part of special education and
therapy all over India, and was also used in a number of other countries in Asia and Europe. In 2012, an
Android version and an iPad version of Avaz were launched. Both of these products were based on extensive
research, after obtaining feedback from all the existing users of Avaz, and collaboration with leading speech
therapists from across the world.
•Avaz is now working with learning disabilities, and are working towards additional features to make Avaz
even better.
Partners:
•Vidyasagar, Chennai works with children and young adults with cerebral palsy and other neurological
disabilities. Vidyasagar has been conducting regular Avaz sessions for some of their children with cerebral
palsy. These children have now started using Avaz in their classrooms too.
•The Spastics Society of Karnataka (SSK), started in 1982, is dedicated to the welfare of persons with
Neuro-Muscular and Developmental Disabilities. SSK has used Avaz with cerebral palsy children both in text
and picture mode. They have used Avaz in classrooms for participating in classroom discussions, answering
questions, discussing ideas for school events, and holding conversations with friends, teachers and visitors.
•Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), recognized nationally and internationally as a specialist centre
providing technical services and training programmes, with a national network of affiliate groups serving the
needs of people with cerebral palsy. IICP conducted a 4 month scientific Evaluation of AVAZ used with
participants with complex communication needs.

32. Case 10- Avaz

33. Case 11- EnNatura: Eco-friendly Printing
(Eco Friendly Printing)
Mission:
EnNatura offers ClimaPrint: Eco-friendly Printing services to environmentally conscious organizations which
helps them in 'Communicating Sustainability' without incremental change in their print procurement costs.
Solution:
•Spun out of IIT Delhi in 2006, EnNatura have developed a resin platform for application in the printing ink
industry, allowing for eco-friendly printing along with high-efficiency recycling of printed paper
•Utilizing proprietary resin chemistry, EnNatura’s printing inks reduce VOC emission during drying and
eliminate use of hydrocarbon solvent during washing of spent ink. The ink chemistry also eases
detachment from waste paper during recycling, consuming lesser energy. This allows for favourable
recycling economics and a smaller environmental footprint during paper manufacturing.

34. Case 11­ EnNatura: Biodegradable Ink from
vegetable oils
Innovation Quotient:
•EnNatura have created a functional resin from renewable feedstock so that all the chemical reactions
involved in the print­ing process don't result in emission of volatile organic compounds. This partic­ular kind of
resin is pH­sensitive and the inks formulated with it print well with mildly acidic fountain solutions used in
lithography printing.
•The ink contains non­edi­ble vegetable oil as the drying oil, thus removing VOCs from ink formulation itself.
This typical characteristic of the ink changes the way it dries after printing, causing no emissions during the
process. Since the resin is pH­sensitive, it can be washed off by a mildly alkaline aqueous wash solution,
thus eliminating the need of using hydrocarbon based wash solu­tions like kerosene. Thus, the composi­tion
of the ink renders the whole printing ecosystem to produce no harmful emis­sions. Since a simple alkali
solution can be used to wash off the inks effectively, the washing costs could be brought down by 85 to 90
percent, reducing the overall cost considerably.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•The startup already has a captive client in IIT­Delhi. It has also tied up with a few green NGOs. The
technology will be useful for companies that currently use non­bio­degradable ink and reams of paper to
make brochures, advertising, packaging and other applications

35. Case 11­ EnNatura: Eco­friendly Printing
Co-founders Krishna Gopal Singh and
Sidhartha Bhimania with the vegetable oil
based ClimaPrint ink for the offset print
industry
Ecofriendly printing ink
that reduces harmful
emissions by almost 99
percent
“It’s important to spot small differences that can
have a massive impact when launching a business’
– Sidhartha Bhimania, Co-Founder EnNatura

36. Case 12­ Vision Earthcare
(Low Cost, Natural, Affluent and Sewage Treatment)
Mission:
•To design processes and to develop systems which provide a complete water purification solution through
Soil Biotechnology
Solution:
•Sewage treatment plants­ The Soil Biotechnology treatment plant has operational & maintenance cost
60% less than a conventional sewage treatment plant. It uses a novel high­efficiency natural oxidation
process to carry out one­pass waste water purification system and to replace the use of heavy blowers for
oxidation in conventional technologies.
•Effluent treatment plants­ Industrial waste water treatment plants based on Soil Biotechnology capable of
removing inorganic materials like Arsenic, Ferrous, Phosphorus etc. Proven and verified for­ Arsenic
removal to the extent of 98.6%, Fe removal to the extent of 97.5%, Phosphorous removal to the extent of
93%
• Aeration and waste disposal for commercial fish farms
•Package treatment plants

37. Case 12­ Vision Earthcare
Innovation Quotient:
•The technology of Vision Earth Care is Soil Biotechnology (CAMUS SBT), developed at IIT Bombay after
nearly two decades of research. CAMUS­SBT uses the ecology of soil media and biological reactions within a
constructed bio reactor to treat waste water.
•Current technologies rely on the aquatic ecology for treatment. This technological advance allows Vision
Earthcare to offer an energy efficient, low maintenance, aesthetic water treatment solution, whose output
water standards are far superior to any other in the market.
•The product ensures that water consumption comes down by 40­45% because of reuse of water. They have
setup plants within housing societies, individual houses, corporations and at some leading industries as well.
It takes only seven days to setup a plant.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•Vision Earthcare has been incubated in the “Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship” at IIT Bombay and
has been licensed to deploy this technology in various sectors to users globally.
•The technology has been developed by the research group at Indian Institute Of Technology (Powai), and
the same has been patented
•Vision work on two independent business models, one where VEC set up the sewage treatment plant
turnkey all by themselves. In the other model, VEC outsource the project to a civil contractor who consults
VEC while setting up the plant. The pricing model is dependant upon the size of the plant and the number of
litres of sewage it purifies per day.

38. Case 12­ Vision Earthcare
Vision Earth Care are located at Society for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (SINE), hosted by Indian
Institute of Technology Bombay
3000 cu. m sewage treatment plant at
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation,
Worli
25 cu.m per day effluent
treatment plant at Godrej,
Pondicherry
Features
•Huge benefits from carbon credit
•Very low energy required due to high oxygen transfer in process
•All green natural process
•No moving parts
•No sludge
•Very high removal of bacteria, BOD, COD, suspended solids, color,
odor, and ammonia
•Practically maintenance-free process
•Long life
•Scalable from 5 KLD to tens of MLD
•Best suited for communities, small-to-medium townships, cities,
industries, golf courses, turf clubs, software parks and malls

39. Case 13­ Sarvajal: Water ATM
(Affordable clean water for all)
Mission: To create a sustainable, scalable business that benefits the community and naturally spreads
throughout the country to ensure affordable clean water for all. They further support the efforts by using
cutting edge technologies for tracking water production and quality in real­time, controlling filtration
operations remotely, and identifying and diagnosing potential maintenance issues before they arise.
Solution:
•Sarvajal is a franchise run by Piramal Water Private that provides clean drinking water to India’s rural
community.
•Sarvajal distributes clean water using local franchises/entrepreneurs. These franchises pay for the filtration
unit and operate these units in their villages. The filtration unit cleans the water using reverse osmosis and
ultraviolet rays and is equipped with a monitoring device or ‘Soochak’.
•The ‘Soochak’ Controller tracks or monitors all the water produced by the franchises by sending SMS’s
about the quality of the water to a central Sarvajal location. All the water dispensers or water ATM’s as they
are being called are connected using the phone network. Customers get access to clean water by using
pre – paid cards and can charge their cards using their mobile phones. This also allows Sarvajal to collect
data about water consumption by customers. Some of the smaller ATM’s are solar charged.
•The enterprise management system used by Sarvajal is a platform for real time analyses of data received
using the ‘Soochak’ and the RFID water ATM system. The data thus collected can be shared widely to get
a clear picture of how to reach the rural and urban water consumers as well as understanding clean water
consumption and health.

40. Case 13­ Sarvajal: Water ATM
Innovation Quotient:
•Innovation in systems thinking, brand development, franchise business development, data collection and
sustainable design and technology
•Innovative technology forms the back bone of this system – embedded sensors, user friendly interface and
RFID prepaid cards help distribute water, connect people and collect data
•Based in Ahmedabad, Sarvajal recruits local entrepreneurs to run water service franchises. The
entrepreneur pays a reasonable startup cost to Sarvajal, which provides all the filtration equipment. The
franchise owner then sells water and delivers water to the community with the profits being shared 60:40
between the franchisee and Sarvajal. Most of the franchisees will hire an operator, a delivery driver and an
assistant, creating 3 new jobs for the community.
•If a filtration unit begins to not operate correctly and water quality drops, the unit notifies Sarvajal
immediately and the company sends someone to maintain it. The remote monitoring and water tracking
systems give the company real time information about water quality, how much water is being sold, where
and when.
Current Status and Future Plans:
•There are close to 127 facilities in India now serving 70,000 people. Families pay around $3 a month for
clean water.
•The service is growing gradually.

41. Case 13­ Sarvajal: Water ATM
Franchisees are trained in standard business practices
and filtration unit maintenance and repairs. They also help
generate community awareness.
Franchisees hire an operator who
operates the machine and sells
water to consumers.
Both Franchisees and Sarvajal earnings depend
on how much drinking water is sold to
households

42. Case 14­ Toys from Trash
Innovation Quotient:
•Prof. Arvind Gupta (www.arvindguptatoys.com) of IIT Kanpur has been involved for over 30­years in
designing science toys using discarded materials. He has over 3200 short videos in 17­languages on
Youtube. everyday 50,000 children across the world view them. Mr. Gupta works at the Children's Science
Centre located in the Inter­University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Pune.
•In the late 1970s Prof Gupta was part of the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (HSTP) which
worked to revitalize science education in rural schools. He worked in over 1000 government schools for over
25 years. The idea of cost­effective toys emerged from there. Moving to a city he was confronted with a lot of
waste ­ societal junk and hence toys from trash.
•For past nine years, Prof. Gupta has worked with 3 other colleagues in a Children's Science Center (part of
a research institute IUCAA).
Current Status and Future Plans:
•13.7 million children have seen Toys from Trash’s 3200 videos on Youtube (dubbed in 17 languages). Also,
10000 passionate books on education, science, mathematics, environment, children's literature are
downloaded from their website for FREE every single day.
Business Model:
•They believe the best and most educative things should be free to the poorest children in the world, hence
their services are for free.
Possible Cooperation with Finnish institutions and Finnish companies
•Finnish schools, volunteers could help translate and dub some of our films in Finnish for the Finnish children.
Other ways of cooperation can also be explored.