Eleven student teams from across the country have conceptualised innovative, implementable ideas that can make a huge impact and a difference to one's daily life. The products, a result of those ideas, range from a one-stop smart card that can be used for 14 different kinds of public transport, to a clock that alerts a mother on the days her newborn is due to get vaccinations.
These ideas were showcased at the National Student Challenge (NCS), a competition held by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS). Students had prepared for the challenge for more than six months. The competition was spread across various fields such as urban culture, basic services, urban poor, human development, safety and violence, livelihood, transport and mobility, affordable housing, etc.
The third edition of NCS saw the participation of over 1,100 teams from across the country, of which 25 were selected for the semi-finals that were held on Wednesday. Nina Nair, chief people officer and head, NCS said, "The concept of NCS is aimed at challenging the youth to stop wringing their hands and to do something about the things that irk them. This year, however, we made it mandatory that they come up with concepts that can be implemented. Thinking up ideas is easy; implementing it is the real hurdle. The 25 teams have done extensive research on the workability of their ideas."
Here's a look at some of the innovative ideas.
Innokart
In the wake of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India recently issuing notices to street food vendors on maintaining cleanliness and hygiene, this innovation by a team of four from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi comes as a blessing in disguise for vendors.
Their idea: an improved food cart. Targeted at meal vendors, the cart comes complete with segregated dustbins, folding flaps where customers can stand and eat and storage and advertising space. "We studied vendors outside Nizammuddin railway station and in Saraikale Khan, Chandni Chowk, Sarojini Nagar and Karol Bagh. We found that most of the carts were huge and space-occupying. Vendors also dirtied the area around them. We will team up with National Association of Street Vendors in India to educate vendors on the importance of the carts," said Huma Parvez and Nida Haque, who along with their team members Faiza Jamal and Ahmed Faraz Khan conceptualised Innokart.
Transpact
Two students from Jadavpur University, Kolkata have developed a concept that facilitates cashless transactions on any mode of public transport. Their idea: a one-stop smart card to integrate ticketing across 14 modes of transport. If their idea is implemented, a commuter needs only carry just one currency-loaded smart card which can be used use as a ticket on buses, Metros, taxis and autos. Since the origin of their idea is in Kolkata, the team has included travel on tram and ferry too. "It erradicates the change problem," said Avishek Das. "We have also seen a lot of illegal tokens flood the existing system as well as paper wastage. To eliminate all that and to centralise the transport system, we came up with this concept."
His teammate, Arunima Sen, added, "With this system we can also record patterns on commuter traffic and bring accountability to those running the system."
Infilight
On a 20-day education yatra, Saif Khan and Imbesat Ahmed from IIT, Kharagpur stumbled on the poor electricity situation in villages of Bihar. Even though there were schools and teachers, the students could not pursue their studies, revise for exams and do their homework after coming back home due to long power cuts. But almost every child above Std VIII possessed a bicycle, thanks to the Bihar government's Cycle Yojna scheme. It triggered the idea of a cost-effective lighting solution powered by bicycles. "Our innovation comes with a rechargeable battery that can be fitted to a dynamo which in turn is fixed to a bicycle. Using the energy generated from cycling, the dynamo recharges the batteries which can be used to power LED lamps that we will provide in the kit," said Saif. The easy-to-fit device will be dust, shock and water resistant.
DRP
To address the problem of over seven lakh homeless people in India, a group of three from Piloo Mody College of Architecture, Cuttack has invented night shelters for homeless people. Their idea: prototype kiosks that can accommodate up to three people at night and can be used as small shops for grocery and other knick knacks. "Most of the people who are homeless in the cities are either beggars or daily wage labourers. These 7.35 sq mtr kiosks made of scrap block boards can be assembled anywhere and cost only Rs 1,200 to produce," said Debadyuti Nandy, who along with teammates Rajarshi Das and Sraman Ghosh designed the kiosk.
Padawans
Have an elderly relative at home and are worried about his/her safety while you are away at work? No problem, says this group of friends who are from Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, University College London and Amity, Noida. Their idea: a portable, wireless emergency alert device in the form of a bracelet or pendant that automatically sends out an alert when the person wearing it is debilitated or incapacitated. "The aged usually suffer from various kinds of diseases and it is not possible to keep an eye on them all the time. Our device, which can be triggered by the press of a button, will send a message via a bay station to the hospital the patient is registered with, and to a close relative. Each device will have a medical ID that paramedics using our app can check to get access to critical health information," says Shankhanil Chowdhury, who along with his brother Saurav Chowdhury and friend Prasenjit Lahiri developed the concept.
Badlaav
Two students have conceptualised a device that can serve as a timely reminder for mothers to get newborns vaccinated. Their idea: a wall clock that has an automated display issuing notification at regular intervals in visual and audio format from six weeks to 18 months of the child's birth. The reminders are as per specified by doctors. Asmita Misra who worked on the concept designed by her teammate Sahil Goyal, learnt during one of her field researches that parents had no idea when to get their child vaccinated. "We found that they were given a card but did not know how to read it. An in-house alert system was the need of the hour. For illiterate mothers, we have installed a small audio reminder that will start reminding the family three weeks prior to the date of vaccination - once every week," she said.
Kaizen
Railway terminals are often a garbage dump with travellers and commuters throwing away used mineral water bottles and other plastic items. This not-so-pleasant sight caught the attention of a group of friends studying at Vellore Institute of Technology who have come up with an idea to improve the recycling process. Their idea: development and deployment of plastic collection machines in cities to deposit plastic bottles in exchange for a nominal amount of cash. "Ragpickers usually sort out plastic bottles at source. We plan to have them bring the collected mass to our kiosks at railway stations. And like systems in the West, they will get paid for feeding the bottles into the machines which will then compress it, thus enabling the transportation of more bottles at one go. These machines will also have sensors to detect pet bottles from ordinary plastic and separate them. The amount ragpickers bring in will be weighed and they will be paid a fee that is at least Rs 2 higher than what they get per kilo now," said Yashanshu Jain, a of the team members who has worked on the concept. The other members of the team are Sarang Surve, Piyush Pangarkar and Rohit Kumar Tiwari.
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