Approach for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan at IIT Mandi

Approach for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan at IIT Mandi, HP, INDIA Dr Arti Kashyap Assocaite Professor SCEE and SBS IIT Mandi

The Himalayan Region • • • The states of Himachal, Uttarakand, Jammu & Kashmir Largely rural and agrarian Tourism of growing importance Fragile environment that needs protection Green energy: hydropower, geothermal, solar State J&K HP UK 2001 Rural Urban 75. 19 24. 81 90. 20 9. 80 74. 33 25. 67 2011 Rural Urban 72. 79 27. 27 89. 56 10. 04 69. 45 30. 55

Challenges of the Region • Farming aids: • Light-weight plough for steep terraces, intelligent irrigation system, Rain harvesting and micro-irrigation technologies, Economical polyhouses with intelligent monitoring, Low cost vermicomposting pits for organic farming • Low-cost Post-harvest Technologies: • Affordable village-scale cold storage systems, Solar dryers for farm produce, Onsite CO 2 generators to enhance shelf life of produce, Packaging material from locally available waste • Information Broadcasting: • Govt schemes for farmers, tea growers do not reach, Advisory for the crops • Women Health and higher education outreach: • Lack of awareness, facilities related to health and education

Approach at IIT Mandi • Study based technological solutions to society through ISTP • Direct solar lighting for village houses • Eco-tourism in Himachal • Traffic management in congested town of Mandi • Advisory system for Tea growers • Renovating gharats in Kamand area • Food preservation technologies • Innovation through design practicum (DP) • Developed low cost drip irrigation system • Inexpensive 3 -D printer • Solutions through DST/MHRD funded projects: • CSTRI Center : Dry Pine needle pellatization • Farmer’s advisory: Developed in IUATC project • e-Health and e-Education: Using low cost mobile devices

Interdisciplinary Sociotechnical Practicum (ISTP) The genesis of the ISTP comes from two facts: • One, development of useful products and technologies requires an understanding of the socio-economic context in which they will be used. • It is observed that often the problems in the society require simple solutions and can be resolved easily with the right technological intervention. • Through the ISTP, our students explore • Explore the various issues/problems of society • Propose technology-based solutions for these • Evaluate the proposed solutions from social, technical, economical, environmental and other aspects • Wherever required, help from the local administration, NGOs etc. will be sought for the implementation of the solutions • http: //www. iitmandi. ac. in/istp/index. html 5

ISTP Project 2013: Won First Prize at WPI, MA Proposal for Traffic Congestion Alleviation in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India Shiv Sankar Baishya, Alyssa Bornstein, Shoubhik Debnath, Jan Keleher, Suraj Malode, Lena Pafumi, Sachin Saini 6

ISTP Project 2014 Study of traditional methods of food preservation, its scientific understanding and technological intervention Pradeep Seervi, Harshit Singhal, Swapnil Ingale, Amit Bhati, Prashant Prazapati 7

ISTP Project 2014 Study of composition, adulteration and hygienic status of milk supplied in Mandi town and surrounding villages Ritesh Rana, Harkaran Singh, Abhinav Singh, Surendra Anuragi 8

DP Project: Drip-irrigation System

DP Projects: 3 D Printer and Oil spill remover Low-cost 3 D printer Rs. 25, 000 Oil-spill remover 10

DST funded: Eco-friendly Utilization of hazardous Dry Pine Needles (DPN) for social benefits Highly Inflammable and Non-Biodegradable nature of Pine Needles

Project DPN: THE CHALLENGE 20 -30% of entire Himalayan Forest Cover* *28. 72% in Uttrakhand 22. 35% in Himachal Pradesh

Project DPN: THE CHALLENGE ü Pine needles fall on ground from April to June. ü They prohibit air flow and hinder the growth of grass in the forests. ü Their degradation is slow due to non-biodegradable nature. ü They catch fire instantly causing immense threat to biodiversity, forests, environment and local economy.

Project DPN: THE SOLUTION The Key To utilize fallen pine needles for making valuable products Anticipated Benefits ü ü Local livelihood promotion as people would be required for collecting and transporting pine needles (Expected incomes: Rs 200 -250 per day person) Reduced Environmental pollution and conserved Forest Biodiversity Social Benefits from products Increase in Employment Opportunities in Pine Needle processing units

Project DPN: Sample Equipment for PELLETIZATION Process and Technical Details The pelletization unit consists of a chipper followed by a hammer mill followed by a pellet mill ü ü ü Conversion ratio: 85% Total power requirement: 45 k. W Chipper Hammer Mill Connected load: 61 HP Capacity: 400 Kg per hour Vendor Name: Namdhari Industrial Works, Khanna, Punjab Pellet Mill

Project DPN: PELLETIZATION Uses and Benefits ü Pellets can be used for domestic cooking as well as for industrial applications ü The identified technology promises 85% efficiency against 30% efficiency of presently used briquetting technique. ü Financial Benefits: The use of pellets as fuel in kitchen promises Rs 30 per day households saving. Quantity Required: 3 KG of pellets vs 10 KG of wood Price: Rs 5/KG Pellets vs Rs 4. 5 KG wood Project is approved, sanction letter and funding is awaited.

MHRD Funded: Women-health Using Mobile Devices Pregnancy help App in Hindi with text, pictures and voice: • Complete information on pregnancy • Identify danger signs during pregnancy, birth, and after birth • how to stay healthy during pregnancy • Text-To-Speech Engine in Hindi language (in collaboration with Prof Hema. Murthi, IITM)

MHRD Funded: Women-health Using Mobile Devices Feedback Survey: To check practical impact of the developed application in Hindi for the rural women of Himachal Pradesh, a thorough survey was conducted in 12 blocks of Distt Mandi. The feedback received is very encouraging. In fact, the demand for more informative application was put forward. 8 7 6 Execellent 5 Vgood 4 Good Satisfactory 3 Poor 2 1 0 Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7

DST Funded: Information broadcasting and Advisory System for Tea growers

Challenges in Execution Lots of ground work has been done but At Institute level • Efforts are sparse • Only a few faculty members are interested • Internal infra-structure is yet to be realized • Simpler procedures for execution are to be evolved Locational challenges • Village in HP means few 100 and sometime less than 100 people • Reaching to remote location is time consuming • Most of the population lives with contentment so very sustained efforts are needed

Thanks !