EDITION 3 2022 Rs. 20 SustainabilitySustainabilityPromotingGreenTechnologiesPromotingGreenTechnologies Waste to ofTheUpPOWERingWricksWasteofTheUpPOWERingWricksChangeFutureFoodtoChangeFutureFood ThroughThrough
VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 3 40 22 * Fueling the Future 26 * Energy Boost 28 * POWERing Up Change 30 * Waste to Wricks 32 * The Future of Food 36 * Developing High Impact Innovations 40 * A View From Space Edition 3 2022 32 2 22 2 * Echoes of the Green Revolution 7 * Honoring Innovation 9 * Learn About Carbon Capture 10 * Urban Heat Stress 12 * Sustainable Packaging Innovations 16 * Green Cooling Solutions 19 * Blended Financing for Health Innovation CourtesyEmoteElectric CourtesyNASA G//doe777iStockettyImages G/SiboppatockettyImages Art Director/ Production Chief Hemant Bhatnagar Deputy Art Directors / Production Assistants Qasim Raza, Shah Faisal Khan Front ImagesiStock/GettyPeach_iStock/cover: Printed and published by Gloria F. Berbena on behalf of the Government of the United States of America and printed at Infinity Advertising Services (P) Ltd., Plot No.-171 & 172, Sector58, Faridabad 121004 and published at the Public Affairs Section, American Embassy, American Center, 24 K.G. Marg, New Delhi 110001. Opinions expressed in this 44-page magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Government. *Articles with a star may be reprinted with permission. Those without a star are copyrighted and may not be reprinted. Contact SPAN at 011-23472135 or editorspan@state.gov CONTENTS Editor in Chief Michael L. Cavey DeepanjaliEditor Kakati Hindi Associate Editor Giriraj Agarwal Urdu Associate Editor Syed Sulaiman Akhtar English Copy Editor Krittika Sharma https://spanmag.com GCourtesyoodDot Gre
To share articles go to https://spanmag.com EDITION 3 2022 3 Decades ago, worldcontinuesagriculturalproduction.India’scollaborationinternationalreinventedrelationshiptofoodToday,thecountry'stransformationtoimpacthowtheproducesitsfood. Echoes of enRevolutionthe ByMICHAELGALLANT
During the 1960s, agriculture was beset by problems like outdated farming techniques, crop diseases, inadequate food distribution systems, droughts and environmental challenges like floods and drought. Millions of people in India suffered massive food shortages and widespread starvation, says Prabhu L. Pingali, professor of applied economics and director of the Tata-Cornell Institute at Cornell University in New York. “Famines were a common phenomenon during this time Compoundingperiod.”theproblem was India’s heavy reliance on imported grain. R.B. Singh, former Central Agricultural University chancellor, says the country used to import 8 to 10 million tons per year and faced financial difficulties when trying to pay for it. Oceans away, during the same time, major breakthroughs in agriculture research were occurring in Mexico under the leadership of American scientist Norman Borlaug. His work on developing new, resilient and bountiful wheat varieties was groundbreaking. In collaboration with Indian scientist M.S. Swaminathan, Borlaug began to test his new varieties of rust-resilient wheat in India. The results were monumental. Getting the wheat in the hands of farmers within just five years, India’s wheat production more than doubled to nearly 24 million tons per year. “This rapid transformation was named ‘The Green Revolution’by [American international aid
n the 1960s and 1970s, the period known as the Green Revolution transformed how the world produced food. It multiplied countrywide agricultural capabilities, fed millions and demonstrated just how powerful innovative international collaboration can be. In India, the Green Revolution raised food grain production from 70 million tons in 1954 to more than 275 million tons today. The processes that led to this achievement introduced technological innovation and created lasting relationships and institutions to sustain productivity for future generations. Roots of a revolution
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Above left and below left: While India was facing its worst food crisis, Norman Borlaug was at the helm of breakthrough scientific research that developed new, resilient and bountiful wheat varieties.
official] William Gaud,” says Singh, “and Norman Borlaug—the Father of the Green Revolution—was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for saving millions from starvation.”TheGreen Revolution had a transformative impact on India’s agriculture and rural populations alike, says Pingali. “Investments in high yielding rice and wheat varieties resulted in dramatic improvements in food supplies, and by the late 1970s, India became self-sufficient in food grains and is today a major food exporter,” he describes. “There has been a sharp drop in hunger and India no longer faces the specter of famines. Higher yields lead to a rise in farm incomes and a sharp drop in rural poverty,” he continues. “The Green Revolution was also instrumental in triggering overall economic development.”
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International collaborations and partnerships are as important, if not more important than in the past, especially with U.S. universities and the private sector.
Not only did the Green Revolution help India meet its immediate food demands, “it gave India much-needed national confidence to continue producing more for its everincreasing population,” says Rajendra Singh Paroda, former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. New developments—and making a difference The Green Revolution was not just a lone historical event, but rather the beginning of an ever-expanding American and Indian agricultural collaboration. “Over the last 50 years, the partnership has
Far left: In collaboration with scientist M.S. Swaminathan (second from right), Borlaug (right) tested his varities of rust-resilient wheat in India. Right and above right: The Green Revolution raised food grain production and introduced technological innovations in India.
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The challenges may seem daunting, but opportunities to help abound. “India is fast becoming a powerhouse in agricultural research and innovation, in addition to its strength in information technologies,” says Pingali.“Given the expertise in these two areas, India can become a global leader in digital agriculture. U.S.-India collaborations can help make smart farming, using digital tools, a reality in India and other countries.”
Above: Norman Borlaug was honored with this American Congressional Gold Medal for increasing food access for those in need.
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6 EDITION 3 2022 expanded to other crops such as cotton and to developing advanced technologies such as biotechnology,” says Pingali. “Indian scientists have studied and worked in U.S. universities and research centers, and have contributed to developing new technologies that have had great impacts on agriculture across the world.”
Right: Then-President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (left) presents the first Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture to Norman Borlaug at an award function in New Delhi in 2005.
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Despite the tremendous gains of the Green Revolution and continued improvements in agriculture over a half-century later, experts believe problems regarding food security will continue to grow for India and the rest of the world. Pingali says there is a “global storm of challenges affecting our food system,” like population growth, rapid urbanization, damage to environmental resources and rising temperatures from climate change. “We need the best minds in India and elsewhere to focus on addressing these challenges and finding solutions for feeding future populations in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner,” he says. For young people who want to get involved, Pingali recommends a strong education, broad approach and global focus. “The challenges facing agriculture need scientific innovation as well as business acumen,” he says. “International collaborations and partnerships are as important, if not more important than in the past, especially with U.S. universities and the private sector. Acareer focused on agricultural development will have high impact on the lives of the poor farmer and the urban consumer, in India and in other countries.”
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Paroda says that both countries have expanded their relationship to include the free exchange of genetic resources for many crops and fruits. “There also exists agricultural trade for many crops, especially soybean and corn, between the two countries,” he says. “Alarge number of agricultural scientists in the past received their education and training in the United States. Good scientific collaboration exists between institutions and experts in many specialized areas.” He cites the fields of seed science, pesticide development and agricultural machinery as a few examples.
Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City.
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The World Food Prize recognizes and encourages innovations to increase the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.
ByMICHAELGALLANT Right: M.S. Swaminathan was the first recipient of the World Food Prize, in 1987, for his contributions to the Indian Green Revolution.
InnovationHonoring
Food can be many things—a necessity for survival, a precious resource, a joy to study and prepare, a focal point for family and community. But food can also be an area where world-changing innovations take place. Many of these innovations are recognized by the World Food Prize, a coveted honor that nine scientists of Indian heritage have won since 1987. M.S. Swaminathan was the first recipient and was recognized for his valuable contributions to the Indian Green Revolution in the late 1970s.
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Rajendra Singh Paroda, former director general for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), describes the award as the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize in the field of agriculture. “This is the foremost international award recognizing individuals who have increased the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world,” he says.
The World Food Prize was created by Norman Borlaug, an American scientist who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in global agriculture, and is awarded every year in Des Moines, Iowa. The World Food Prize Foundation exists to “elevate innovations and inspire action to sustainably increase the quality, quantity and availability of food for all,” says Victoria Chia, the Foundation’s senior director for international dialogues. “Access to quality, nutritious food is a fundamental issue for human existence, and is imperative for life as we know it.”
Through the World Food Prize, the Foundation aims to not just honor recipients, but also bring together “the brightest minds and greatest innovators” in the worlds of food and agriculture, and support organizations and government officials who are committed to like-minded goals, says Chia. In 2020, the World Food Prize was awarded to Rattan Lal, a renowned soil scientist, who currently researches and teaches at The Ohio State University. His work is based on a simple but powerful philosophy: when it comes to health, the earth’s soil, plants, animals, people and overall environment are inseparable.“Mygoal is to transform agriculture, and make it a solution to climate change, water quality, biodiversity and human health,” says Lal. “People are mirror images of the land they live on. When people are miserable, they pass their miseries to the land and the land reciprocates. We must break the vicious cycle.”Inpractice, Lal’s work focuses on ways of keeping soil healthy, allowing it to produce more food with fewer resources. He describes this approach as a fundamental departure from the way India grew food during the momentous Green Revolution that began in the 1960s.While the Green Revolution became successful with the use of rice and other crop varieties that responded well to
Lal’s research on soil health has helped usher in what he describes as a “soil-centric revolution” dedicated to maximizing food creation—while minimizing the resources used to make it happen. Creating a sustainable, foodrich future is more than the work of world-famous scientists. For those who aspire to follow Lal’s example, Chia recommends education, perseverance and action. “Start locally, and identify main sources of food insecurity and agricultural problems around you,” she says. “Use creativity and knowledge to think about solving those issues.”
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Above: World Food Prize winner Rattan Lal (left) with Al Gore, former U.S. vice president and an advocate for environmental sustainability.
For instance, consider whether a scientific approach to local agricultural problems would make things better, or is increased funding the fix that’s needed? Would a better-organized food distribution system solve a community’s problems, or do local farmers need more training and specialized knowledge? “Do an analysis, recommend solutions, and enter the agriculture or food security space, so you can continue delving deeper into these issues,” Chia advises. Whether looking locally or globally, problems of agriculture, sustainability and food access can feel overwhelming. But Lal urges young people to stay involved regardless. “There are eight billion of us on Earth, and each of us is both a culprit and a victim,” he says. “If everyone in India were to commit to reducing the amount of carbon and water they use by even 5 percent, multiply that 1.4 billion times, and the impact is enormous.” Environmental sustainability has been at the core of human life for thousands of years, and respecting nature is a deeply ingrained cultural value in India. “We’ve just forgotten,” he says. “Now is when we need to teach our children, from the very beginning, to remember.”
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8 EDITION 3 2022 high levels of fertilizer and water, “globally speaking, we are using 10 times more nitrogen, five times more phosphorus, potassium and pesticides, and five times more irrigation water than prior to the Green Revolution,” he says. When it comes to agriculture, he adds, “the focus should be on efficiency, rather than rate.”
Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City. My goal is to transform agriculture, and make it a solution to climate change, water quality, biodiversity and human health.
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Carbon capture vs. carbon removal
As nations work toward capping carbon dioxide emissions and stopping other greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, there will still be a surplus of carbon dioxide present in the air. So what can be done to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? There are different methods for keeping carbon dioxide from entering the air and for soaking up carbon dioxide that’s already there. When industrial buildings burn dirty energy to fuel production, their smokestacks emit carbon dioxide. This accounts for 16 percent of carbon dioxide produced annually in the United States. Carbon capture technology isolates carbon dioxide as it’s produced and before it’s released into the atmosphere. The captured carbon dioxide is then stored safely, frequently in construction materials or underground geological reserves.While carbon capture focuses on newly produced CO2, carbon removal technology does just that: removes already existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
arbon dioxide is a natural part of the planet’s environment, but too much of it can wreak havoc on the climate. Currently, there is 47 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than at the beginning of the Industrial Age. This causes temperatures to rise, the ocean to acidify, and extreme weather to become commonplace and even more extreme. Carbon capture technology is essential to reversing the effects of global warming.“Evenif we get to…net zero by 2050, even if we get there, we still have to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere,” said Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on April 22. “And that means we need the innovative technologies to do that.”
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Carbon capture is fast becoming a viable tool to combat the climate crisis. As of 2020, 24 operational facilities around the world are successfully capturing carbon dioxide. Half are in the United States. Carbon dioxide removal is also on the rise as American entrepreneurs blend new technology with old methods to address the climate crisis. University of Miami students won the Musk Foundation’s XPRIZE for project proposals to sequester a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Their idea: dissolvable tablets that absorb carbon dioxide in the ocean. “Clearly, innovation is going to be a critical component of what we have to achieve,” said Kerry.
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Researchers
arge cities get extremely hot during heat waves as pavements and buildings radiate heat and elevate temperatures. Add in global warming and an increasingly urban population, and the result is a dangerous combination that puts more people at risk of potentially fatal heat exposure.
the inareheatemissions,andbetweenrelationshipheatstresscarbonandwhywavesfeltstronglyurbanareas. ByJASON CHIANG
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Over recent decades, hundreds of millions of people have moved from rural areas to cities, which now hold more than half the world’s population. Here, temperatures are higher than in the countryside because abundant concrete,
Over the past 40 years, exposure to extreme heat jumped by nearly 200 percent in more than 10,000 of the world’s biggest urban areas, according to a recent study, titled “Global Urban Population Exposure to Extreme Heat,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Center right: Exposure to extreme heat has jumped by nearly 200 percent in more than 10,000 of the world’s biggest urban areas, according to a study by Cascade Tuholske (far right top) and others. In India, Kala Seetharam Sridhar (far right bottom) has found that richer cities are more vulnerable to urban heat stress than poorer cities because of
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Heat StressHeat Stress
Jason Chiang is a freelance writer based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
Studying the divide Kala Seetharam Sridhar, a professor at Bengaluru’s Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, Institute for Social and Economic Change, has been closely studying the correlation between urbanization and urban heat stress, particularly across Indian cities. For her Fulbright-Nehru project in 2020-21, she focused on understanding the suburbanization of India’s cities, their regional variations and causes. Like Tuholske, Sridhar sees direct links between growing urban areas and their overall susceptibility to urban heat stress. “The most important pattern I see in India’s cities is that the richer cities are hotter, but the poorer cities are cooler,” Sridhar explains. “High income, use of cars and their associated emissions, inadequate public transport to cater to the needs of commuters, and the methods of disposal or incineration of solid wastes are primarily the causes of vulnerability of Indian cities to urban heat stress.”
asphalt and other impermeable surfaces trap and concentrate heat—a phenomenon known as the urban heat island“Thiseffect.hasbroad effects,” says Cascade Tuholske, lead researcher and co-author of the study. “It increases morbidity and mortality. It impacts people’s ability to work and results in lower economic output. It exacerbates pre-existing health conditions.” Tuholske is an Earth Institute postdoctoral research scientist working with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University. His research group has combined infrared satellite imagery and readings from thousands of ground instruments to determine maximum daily heat and humidity readings in over 13,000 cities, starting from 1983 to 2016. “Heat is often called the silent killer because we lack data on heat waves and their impacts for much of the planet,” Tuholske explains. His study defines “extreme heat” as more than 30 degrees Celsius on the WetBulb Globe Temperature scale. This is equivalent to approximately 41 degrees Celsius or 106 degrees Fahrenheit on the “real feel” heat index—the point at which even most healthy people find it hard to function outside, and the unhealthy might become very ill, or even die.
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Immediate solutions Looking to the future, both Tuholske and Sridhar agree that reducing emissions is the most immediate solution to battling urban heat stress. “Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the number one thing we can do to reduce urban heat stress,” Tuholske says. “If we change our energy system, we can slow the increase in extreme heat events and thus reduce exposure,” he says. “Second, direct cash transfers to the poor so they can afford air conditioning and not have to work outside during hot days can help people avoid extreme heat.”
The study’s results showed that overall urban heat exposure has affected 1.7 billion people—about a quarter of the world’s population. Physical warming accounted for about one-third of the increase in the number of people exposed to urban heat stress per year, while the rise in urban populations accounted for about
Sridhar believes that effective mitigations can be implemented through forward-thinking building codes. “Nonpolluting fuels like solar panels are being used extensively in Indian cities. There is also the concept of green buildings, which primarily refers to buildings that use recyclable materials, reduce the use of energy with the use of natural light and ventilation, and use ecologicallyfriendly materials,” she says. Ultimately, Tuholske concludes, direct action will need to be taken by leaders. “We need to invest in our cities’ infrastructure and in our poor communities to deploy adaptations at scale,” he says. “This requires money. We have the tools to reduce harm from heat. We need to prioritize making a difference.”
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Thetwo-thirds.study’sgoal, Tuholske says, is to help policymakers better target strategies to protect vulnerable people. “It’s really important for stakeholders to prioritize which city needs what. Our data can show if a given city needs to plan for more people needing more services, more hot-humid days, or both,” he says.
Sridhar’s most recent research centers on predicting carbon emissions that are correlated with urban heat stress in the medium and long term for Indian cities. The Covid-19 pandemic, she says, has actually made urban heat stress effects lower by reducing commuting and forcing people to work from home. “My preliminary estimates suggest that Indian cities may emit up to 0.82 metric tons per capita of carbon emissions by 2030 and 1.17 metric tons per capita of carbon emissions by 2050 on average, assuming current trends continue,” she says.
ByJASON CHIANG ackaging is ubiquitous in our everyday lives and provides countless conveniences, including shipping of goods all over the world. However, the explosion of single-use plastic packaging to transport and deliver goods has placed a heavy burden on the environment.Manycountries, including the United States and India, are now taking steps to introduce regulations that drive sustainability, and answer growing public concerns about harmful packaging waste. Innovators like Dharaksha Ecosolutions and Ecovia, both Nexus-trained start-ups, have stepped up to introduce solutions that make packaging products more sustainable. Ecovia was created in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, when millions of people were confined to their homes and depended on e-commerce deliveries for basic commodities. Dhwani Mehta, Pranjul Jain and Parikshit Joon created the start-up with the intent of reducing waste and promoting sustainability.“Theonething that bothered us all was the packaging material and sheer waste that our purchases were accompanied by,” says Mehta. “What if this ridiculous amount of ecommerce packaging could be reused— reducing waste and making the house less cluttered?” They started a pilot project in Surat, which got an encouraging response, and Ecovia was Dharakshaborn.Ecosolutions co-founders Arpit Dhupar and Anand Bodh wanted to find solutions to curb crop stubble burning. Farmers in India burn an estimated 23 million tons of crop stubble every year as a way of quickly and cheaply clearing their fields between harvests. The emissions can result in severe health risks and aggravate conditions like asthma and chronic bronchitis.
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Deeply concerned about the air pollution that would engulf north India from September to November every year, Dhupar and Bodh toured villages in Haryana and Punjab to understand why farmers burn stubble, even though their families are the first to be affected by the pollution. At the same time, the duo wanted to find a way to use the crop stubble so that farmers wouldn’t burn this agricultural waste.
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Addressing everyday problems Dhupar and Bodh explored the possibility of making different products from stubble
GGCourtesyDharakshaEcosolutionsneshYeh/iStock/ettyImages To share articles go to https://spanmag.com EDITION 3 2022 13 Above and below: Dharaksha Ecosolutions has created a sustainable packaging alternative from crop stubble waste, which otherwise would be burnt by farmers as a quick and cheap way to prepare for the next sowing season.
www.startupnexus.inNexuswww.dharaksha.comDharakshawww.thinkecovia.comEcoviaStart-upHubOnlineGo ImagesRecycleMan/iStock/Getty
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The explosion of single-use heavydelivertransportpackagingplastictoandgoodshasplacedaburdenontheenvironment.
Right and far right: Ecovia’s packaging material is made of recycled polyester from plastic bottles and is highly durable. waste, including vermicompost, biogas and paper pulp. They finally zeroed in on packaging material as it would help address two problems—air pollution and unsustainable plastic or petroleum-derived packaging. They started Dharaksha in 2020, which is based in New Delhi. “It took us about two years to crack the research and development process and create a packaging material that can replace thermocol and plastic,” says Dhupar. Dharaksha’s packaging material is made entirely from crop stubble and is nearly identical in look and feel to thermocol, which is widely used as packaging material. Dhupar says Dharaksha’s packaging has better cushioning capabilities, texture and surface finish than thermocol. It is also waterresistant, fire-retardant and customizable in shape. “Our packaging is completely biodegradable,” he says. “You can easily dump it as part of your kitchen waste and it will decompose in 60 days.” Ecovia, on the other hand, approaches the problem from a different perspective. It focuses on direct-to-consumer brands, helping them switch to reusable packaging. “Imagine yourself seated in a bathtub. The water is overflowing. Would you start mopping the floor or simply turn off the tap? We, at Ecovia, find more value in reusing rather than recycling,” says Mehta. Many brands have taken measures like eliminating plastic from their supply chain. But Mehta feels this is not enough. “The closest to a perfect solution to the use of excess plastic packaging is reusing at commercial and scalable levels,” she says.
Ecovia’s packaging material is highly durable and is designed to be reused almost 100 times. “The material is recycled polyester that is made of plastic bottles. It is essentially the same material that is used to make backpacks. It is water and tear-resistant,” says Mehta. Reaching homes Ecovia’s business model is unique as the consumer is rewarded for acting responsibly and returning the packaging for reuse. Once the delivery from a partner brand reaches the customer, they can simply scan the QR code printed on the packaging to schedule the Ecovia package return.
As soon as the return is picked up, customers receive a reward coupon as a “thank you” for their conscious step toward sustainability. “This reward is essentially tied to the same brand from which the purchase was made. So maybe a 10 percent or 25 percent off on your next purchase. We’ve reached close to 70 percent in the returns segment,” says Mehta. Ecovia has partnered with more than 50 brands including WOW Skin Science, Otipy, GO DESi and Suta. Dharaksha too has successfully added many corporate clients, including Dabur and Barosi, for its biodegradable packaging material. The company is already looking to scale up in other product applications, says Dhupar. “In the future, we want to get into building furniture by increasing the strength of the materials,” he adds. “This would also help in preventing deforestation as we would be able to replace wood with our material.”
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Jason Chiang is a freelance writer based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
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Above far left, above center and above: Ecovia, founded by Dhwani Mehta, Pranjul Jain and Parikshit Joon, helps direct-to-consumer brands switch to reusable packaging. Ecovia received training at the Nexus Start-up Hub.
y 2030, cooling buildings during the hot summer months will be an important issue. Astudy by the International Energy Agency projects that by 2050 the cooling degree days (CDDs) will increase by around 25 percent globally, with a larger share in tropical regions. Southern and Eastern Asia will see an increase in CDDs ranging from 15 percent to 40 percent. Adegree day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, compares the average outdoor temperatures recorded for a location to a standard temperature. The more extreme the outside temperature, the higher the number of degree days. Ahigh number of degree days generally means that more cooling is required to maintain a comfortable temperature, which results in higher levels of energy use for space cooling. Hence, the way that countries cool down will be important from various perspectives, including effectiveness, economics and environmental standards, as it can have a pronounced effect on the problem of global warming. With the importance of energy efficiency in mind, EESL’s (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) superefficient air conditioning (SEAC) program has been developed to support India’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, Kigali Amendment and in alignment with the India Cooling Action Plan. The program, through collaborations with leaders in the air conditioning industry, introduced super-efficient room air conditioners in the market. Specifically, the SEAC program aims to encourage the use of highly energyefficient air conditioners made affordable through a bulk procurement model. In the pilot phase, 50,000 super-efficient air conditioners are expected to be installed across India, resulting in annual energy savings of 107 million kilowatts and annual mitigation of 91,000 tons of greenhouse gases.
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As temperaturessummer rise, EESL’s programefficientsuper-airconditioningaims to cooling.energy-efficientencourage To share articles go to https://spanmag.com EDITION 3 2022 17 SolutionsSolutions OnlineGo Super-efficient air conditioning https://bit.ly/seac-maitreeprogram
Natasa Milas is a freelance writer based in New York City.
“The USAID MAITREE team worked with EESLin developing a vision and work plan for achieving the widespread adoption of superefficient air conditioning devices and the net zero approach, including financial models and market analysis,” says Tathagat. In addition, a program for facilitating SEAC retrofitting according to standardized practices has been instituted. These practical aims are backed up by a robust awareness and education program, through the development of toolkits and sales brochures for the super-efficient air conditioners. “These will support the EESL team in succinctly explaining the salient features of the product and calculating the cost benefit for potential customers,” says Tathagat. A cooler future Extreme heat and climate challenges impact all aspects of daily life. Everything, from school and work schedules to harvests and social lives, is impacted. With higher temperatures on the horizon and increased consciousness of the impact that cooling technologies can have on the environment, the super-efficient air conditioning devices will play a vital role in the coming years.
Air conditioners are considered a luxury item in India and most households cannot afford these. However, the risk of heatstroke, heart attacks and other heat-related medical issues is an important concern. The need for air conditioners, in spite of the price, has increased in recent years as summer temperatures have created a rising need for cooling in households across the country. Alarge part of addressing the rising demand in a climate-conscious manner is consumer education about superefficient air conditioners.
The SEAC program is also expected to reduce energy consumption by about 40 percent through its inverter technology, which allows the air conditioners to lower power consumption when less cooling is required. The super-efficient split air conditioners have been tested to deliver cooling in all places where the outside temperature falls in the range of 18 to 52 degrees Celsius, and are extra-quiet. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is playing a major role in moving this technology forward in India. Market transformation toward sustainable cooling is an important aspect of USAID’s MAITREE program, which supports large-scale building energy efficiency efforts in collaboration with various public and private agencies. Program activities include energyefficient design for new buildings, retrofitting of existing buildings and energy-efficient operations and management.
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Tanmay Tathagat, director at New Delhibased Environmental Design Solutions, says consumer engagement will be a key component in increasing awareness about the benefits of energy-efficient technologies. “We have leveraged the public sector and institutional consumers to aggregate the first large-scale demand for super-efficient technologies,” says Tathagat. He added that household consumers will be the ultimate beneficiary of the SEAC program as cooling appliances will become increasingly affordable and thus catalyze marketAccordingtransformation.toTathagat, SEACs are not only 30 to 40 percent more efficient than typical air conditioners, but also use zero Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants for a lower environmental impact. GWPis a measure of how much global warming is caused by a refrigerant. “To encourage consumer demand, EESLis also offering 100 percent upfront financing along with comprehensive after-sales support,” he says, adding that the program has resulted in a price drop of 22 percent for split air conditioners, and encouraged all major manufacturers to start supplying SEACs.
supportsimportanttowardtransformationMarketsustainablecoolingisanaspectofUSAID’sMAITREEprogram,whichlarge-scalebuildingenergyefficiencyeffortsincollaborationwithvariouspublicandprivateagencies. EESLcourtesyScreenshot
Super-efficient air conditioners
G//SPanuwatikhamiStockettyImagesPhotographscourtesyUSAID/India Above and below: Blackfrog Technologies’ Emvólio is a portable, active cooling, batterypowered device that delivers Covid-19 vaccines across India. Blending financing can offset risk, multipartnerattractinvestment and scale up innovations for wide-reaching impact. To share articles go to https://spanmag.com EDITION 3 2022 19 FinancingBlended forFinancingBlendedInnovationHealthforInnovationHealth ByNATASAMILAS
Below: With SAMRIDH’s support, Padma Vitals—a wearable telemetric monitoring device—was disbursed in time by Cardiac Design Labs, and made accessible to vulnerable communities.
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For Nikhilesh Tiwari, director of Collateral Medical Pvt Ltd, SAMRIDH’s support during the pandemic was crucial in accelerating the supply of oxygen concentrators to health care units. “During the peak of the pandemic, SAMRIDH aided us in securing a working
SAMRIDH works on finding high impact solutions, particularly within the areas of personal protective equipment, oxygen supply, health infrastructure, supply chain management, primary health care, telemedicine and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled medical devices. As Covid-19 moves into its endemic phase, focus will shift to the underlying health systems, including monitoring and detecting new variants, strengthening the capacity of health care systems and increasing global access to vaccines.
The model
Blended finance allows SAMRIDH to enable health innovations, which can subsequently be replicated at scale, and achieve wide-reaching sustainable development outcomes.
Anand Madanagopal, founder and CEO of Cardiac Design Labs, says SAMRIDH’s support was key to ensure that its wearable telemetric monitoring device, Padma Vitals, was made accessible to vulnerable communities. According to him, the support received through the initiative enabled “timely procurement of Padma Vitals devices” and better product outreach. “This collaboration has set us on the path to achieve financial sustainability in the long run,” he says. Currently, top priority health innovations are focused on the Covid-19 pandemic.
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absorbed by funding from philanthropic groups,” Rao continues, “the project becomes more attractive to the private investors seeking market-rate returns at lower risk. In effect, blended finance facilitates greater commercial investments toward scaling solutions with the potential to significantly improve the wellbeing of low-income groups.”
“The model leverages collaborative investments by combining funds from philanthropic groups to serve as the catalytic capital able to mitigate market barriers and attract private sector investment,” says Neeta Rao, senior health specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development, India, which is supporting SAMRIDH in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog), principal scientific advisor to the Government of India, and the National HealthImplementingAuthority.and scaling health solutions is a complex and expensive endeavor. When there is an insufficient budget allocated to health care needs, private sector investments can play a critical role in providing supplemental financing. Yet, investors are deterred from making investments in health care when there is perceived high financial risk and low return profiles of health businesses in comparison to investments in otherBlendedsectors.financing helps overcome these deterrents and brings innovations to the broader marketplace. “In part because risks are
attractmarketthegroupsfromcombininginvestmentscollaborativeleveragesbyfundsphilanthropictoserveascatalyticcapitalabletomitigatebarriersandprivatesectorinvestment. CCourtesyardiacDesgnLabs
reated in 2020, SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Finance Facility utilizes blended financing models to create market-based health solutions. It is structured as a multisectoral partnership, with support from the government, development agencies and private sector partners, including entrepreneurs, accelerators and financial institutions, and academia.
capital term loan, which enabled us to accelerate the supply of oxygen concentrators,” he explains. “The funding and advisory services we received from SAMRIDH enabled us to manage our cash flow more effectively, cut operating expenses, and use the savings as cash collateral to secure a working capital term loan from an impact investment firm. The capital raised allowed us to enhance our ability to fulfill immediate orders and expand our offerings in the health care vertical.”
Asuccessful blended finance structure includes the right combination of debt, equity and grant financing, along with predetermined terms for each investor to absorb losses and earn returns. “The model is especially relevant for sunrise and undercapitalized sectors, such as the domestic health care industry in India, where the flow of private capital is constrained by investors’perceptions of high risks and low returns,” says Rao. Blended finance is an important tool for long-term positive impact in offsetting risk, attracting investment and bringing affordable health care innovation to scale. Natasa Milas is a freelance writer based in New York City. Right: SAMRIDH is supporting SN Genelabs to increase Covid-19 genomic sequencing capacity in Gujarat through the adoption of sequencingnext-generationtechnology.
Blackfrogwww.cardiacdesignlabs.comCardiachttps://samridhhealth.orgSAMRIDHDesignLabsTechnologieswww.blackfrog.in
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Another success story of SAMRIDH blended financing is Blackfrog Technologies—a health-tech company specializing in the last mile delivery of medical supplies and specimens. Its groundbreaking innovation, Emvólio—a portable, active cooling, battery-powered device— delivers Covid-19 vaccines across India. “The impact funding and risk guarantee received from SAMRIDH has been instrumental for Blackfrog to raise commercial capital from financial institutions,” says Donson D’Souza, co-founder and COO of Blackfrog Technologies. “This has enabled us to scale up our manufacturing capacity for Emvólio and cater to markets across India and overseas.”Blending financing models also have challenges. High transaction costs and long timelines in structuring blended finance solutions, regulatory challenges and legal frameworks that limit the flow of capital, and the lack of private sector mobilization can cause impediments to the wide-reaching impact of important health innovations.
Emote Electric offers an effective and ecologically safe alternative to petrol-rrun bikes.
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Challenges vs. opportunities
Emote Electric not only developed entirely new technologies in response to the global shortages of critical components, it also reworked the 2015 e-motorcycle model into a geared electric bike called Surge, which was unveiled in 2021. According to Singanapalli, the addition of the gearbox was born out of a need to bring down costs. “It sounds counterintuitive, considering
Singanapalli, however, had a different take. “My thinking was that they had the cause and effect reversed,” he says. “Coming from a product design background, I figured that if a good product is available, people would gladly buy a two-wheeler EV.”
Ten years later, his prediction rang true as his start-up Emote Electric, earlier known as eMotion Motors, graduated from the Nexus Start-up Hub’s program, won recognition and financial support, and started accepting national and international preorders for its e-motorcycles. Emote Electric gained critical depth of knowledge over 10 years as its team researched, designed and tested its electric motorcycle. The start-up also overcame major challenges in its quest to develop an economical, high performance and green alternative to petrol-run motorcycles.
ranav Singanapalli launched a start-up in 2011 to work on electric motorcycles, out of frustration with his electric scooter. At that time, electric vehicles (EV) were available in India but they were not yet mainstream or popular. The new electric technology raised concerns among people who were used to getting around differently. Product development was also at the beginning stages and the lack of investment to create a competitive product deterred potential buyers.
22 EDITION 3 2022 SPhhPotograpscourtesyranavinganapall
ByHILLARYHOPPOCK the
To share articles go to https://spanmag.com EDITION 3 2022 23 Emote Nexuswww.emoteelectric.comElectricStart-upHubwww.startupnexus.in OnlineGo
SPhhPotograpscourtesyranavinganapali Above and below: Prototypes of bike models at Emote Electric’s workshop. 24 EDITION 3 2022
Coming from a product design background, I figured that if a good product is available, people would gladly buy a two-wheeler EV.
we are adding 30 new parts. But the gearbox is primarily a lever, and extra gears help us extract a lot more performance from a relatively smaller motor, which draws less power and allows us to use a smaller control unit and a smaller battery,” he says. Since these three components constitute 60 to 70 percent of vehicle cost, reducing that by 50 percent translates to a 25 percent net lower cost for the start-up. With the supply chain in a constant state of flux, Singanapalli found they had to do multiple redesigns to replace parts they couldn’t get. “Integrated circuits were hard to come by and we couldn’t afford to pay 10 times the price on the open market,” he says “We were playing the game of ‘whack-a-mole’with many of our components, losing money and market opportunity.”
Product line In 2015, Emote Electric’s initial prototype for its two-wheeler EVcalled for a 100kmph motorcycle with 80km/charge range and acceleration figures rivaling a typical 150cc gasoline motorcycle. There was no gearbox, no smart instrumentation and one swappable battery. “These now have evolved into a 120kmph motorcycle with 170km/charge/battery (500 km net of three batteries) with smart digital instrumentation and a four-speed gearbox that handily beats any petrol motorcycle in its class in acceleration,” Singanapalli notes. In 2021, Emote Electric was one of the 11 finalists at the Qualcomm Design in India Challenge. The start-up went on to receive technical assistance and support from Qualcomm. “We had their expertise and guidance for the smart instrumentation cluster that powers our motorcycle,” says Singanapalli. “They also provided technical assistance in sourcing parts, introductions to potential customers and investors and building up intellectual property.”
Singanapalli says the good news is that the cost of many EV components, particularly the battery costs, has come down over the last decade. And Emote Electric’s dedication to EVs from day one is now yielding benefits. “Tightening emissions norms has made the cost of petrol bikes go up significantly,” says Singanapalli. “It’s critical to manage our costs to be competitive with petrol motorcycles and far better subsidies compared to 10 years ago have helped increase our componentAnumberbudget.”ofincentives are offered by the central and state governments for purchase of EVs in India. These include tax exemptions for EVloans, exemption from fees for issuing or renewing registration certificates and subsidies for electric twowheelers based on the size of their lithium-ion battery packs. The subsidies range from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000 per kWh of battery capacity and have helped lower the sale price of EVbikes.
Hillary Hoppock is a freelance writer, former newspaper publisher and reporter based in Orinda, California.
From one model in 2015, Emote Electric now has two product lines, each with two variants available for users across the world.
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Leonite Labs’ high-efficiency lithium batteries power electric vehicles in a market that is rapidly expanding to accommodate efficient alternatives.
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Initial ideation Sarkar graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. At university, he was the captain of the
A nkush Sarkar has created a growing business producing lithium-ion batteries for India’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) market. His success as a young entrepreneur has come from his unquenchable ambition and hard work. Seeing the advantages of lithium car batteries at an international student racing competition in Japan sparked Sarkar’s interest in lithium-ion batteries. The support from the Nexus Start-up Hub in New Delhi helped propel his ambitions.Sarkarreports that his company, Leonite Labs Private Limited, has produced more than 50,000 battery packs for two-, three- and four-wheel EVs like motorbikes, rickshaws and cars. Leonite Labs’business model is based on licensing out the EV technology and production processes, rather than manufacturing the battery packs itself. Leonite Labs currently has five partners in Delhi and its surrounding areas that produce the battery packs or prepare production facilities.
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Sarkar continued researching how to produce high-efficiency lithium batteries, watching countless videos on the subject and experimenting on his own. To raise money for his fledgling business, he assembled lithium batteries himself and sold them at a considerable profit at college electric go-kart events, where teams eagerly snatched them up to capitalize on the increased speeds with the lighter batteries. Still, at first, progress on the start-up was slow. “For two years I was not able to tell my parents [that] I had a startup,” he recalls, “[fearing that] they might say I should get a ‘good job’ instead.” But Sarkar persevered. Along with building his start-up, he also focused on networking. He attended business conferences and events to discuss EVtechnology and massproducing high-quality lithium-ion EV batteries. In 2019, Sarkar won a competition to join the Nexus Start-up Hub in New Delhi. The incubator, a collaboration between U.S. Embassy New Delhi and the Alliance For Commercialization and Innovation Research (ACIR), provides selected start-ups access to networks of industry and government partners, training with commercialization experts from around the world, an extensive mentor network as well as access to funders specializing in supporting start-ups. The experience “gave me valuable lessons on finance [and] helped me understand value creation,” says Sarkar. The following year, the Covid-19 pandemic nearly ruined his business. In January 2020, Sarkar had just signed a lease for a commercial1,600-square-footspace.Alittleover a month later, the nationwide lockdown was announced and business came to a halt. Sarkar lost his savings and had to give up the premises. But his networking paid off as six months later a manufacturer who wanted to start producing lithium EVbatteries contacted him. The two ended up signing a partnership agreement. With sales of electric vehicles in India having tripled last year, and projected to double this year, the demand for the batteries that supply their power has been growing exponentially. Sarkar strives to make Leonite Labs a major competitor in EVin India, creating efficient technology that can help mitigate global climate challenges.
EDITION 3 2022 27 Energy Boost ByBURTON BOLLAG SarkarAnkushcourtesyPhotographs
student team that designed and built its own formula-style racing vehicles. In 2016, he and his team participated in an international formula racing student competition in Japan. It turned out to be “the most pivotal moment in my life,” says Sarkar. The competition exposed him to better-designed cars by student teams from other countries. Most importantly, instead of the heavy leadacid battery used in Sarkar’s car, like in most conventional gasoline-powered cars on the roads, some of the other formula student teams used much lighter lithium batteries. That reduction in the weight gave their cars a speed advantage. “When I came back to India,” recalls Sarkar, “I began reading up everything I could about lithium batteries.” One thing he discovered, he says, is that batteries large enough to power vehicles were not widely available in India. Birth of Leonite Sarkar decided to change that and founded Leonite Labs while still at university. He chose the name Leonite as it is a combination of “Leo”—his astrological symbol (and Latin for lion)—and “nite” because lions hunt at night. The battery packs are sold under the brand name DCMan.
Burton Bollag is a freelance journalist living in Washington, D.C.
Right: Ankush Sarkar’s Leonite Labs works with partners in Delhi and surrounding areas to produce battery packs or prepare production facilities (far right). To share articles go to https://spanmag.com
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Dhanalakshmi, a trainer from Tamil Nadu, learned about gender roles, opportunities and the regional working environment through the POWER project. She is now working toward a specific goal—to have her daughters become financially independent. “My daughters should pursue their studies well and become financially independent so that they can look after themselves and lead a good life,” Dhanalakshmi says. CHIANG
POWERing 28 EDITION 3 2022 USAIDcourtesyPhotographs
Mikhala, who trains tribal women working with non-timber forest produce in Odisha, says the biggest takeaway from the POWER initiative is what she learned about gender equality. “I understand now that employment and economic independence is an equal right,” she says. “Daughters too can aspire to work and earn, and should get the same rights as sons.”
Initiated in 2019 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bengaluru-based Industree Foundation, the POWER project was designed to create economic opportunities for marginalized and underserved women in rural India. Three years later, the project’s impact has gone beyond financial selfreliance. Participants are now upskilling not just to build secure futures for themselves, but also to help reduce carbon footprints by recycling the abundantly available local natural fibers into ecofriendly products. The project trains women in tribal and rural areas to make products from natural fibers like banana, bamboo and non-timber forest produce. The training helps them develop their own creative manufacturing enterprise. It also enables them to understand their role in the conservation of the environment and ethical ways of sourcing and manufacturing, along with helping them connect with national and global markets. Empowering women “Akey aspect of the training is gender empowerment. This has initiated far-reaching changes in rural communities with the potential to transform future generations,” says Varghese Paul, forestry specialist and deputy director, General Development Office, USAID/India. “By training women producers to build both hard and soft skills in running their creative manufacturing enterprises, the initiative is giving them the power to decide the course of their futures.”
oornapechi is a basket weaver from Tamil Nadu, and a mother of two children. During the Covid19 pandemic, she got a chance to hone her craft and become a skilled artisan through training received from the Producer-Owned Women Enterprises (POWER) project. Poornapechi is now driven by the idea of improving the next generation’s standard of living. “I am motivated to make two pieces a day because the more I make, the more I can earn—which means I can help my family out of debt and invest in my children’s future,” she says.
positivetakingchargeThroughthePOWERinitiative,womenareoftheirfuturesinaclimate-way.
Holistic approach POWER uses a holistic approach to ensure that its enterprises can grow to be self-sustainable. It offers incubation of enterprises, access to technical and soft skills, helps create product designs, enables innovation, and provides access to markets, working capital and equity. For instance, products from GreenKraft, an enterprise supported by POWER in Tamil Nadu that manufactures baskets from recycled banana bark, are purchased by international clients like IKEAand Caravane. So far, products worth over $2 million have been sold to international retailers. In addition, the owner-members of GreenKraft enjoy regular and formal work with full labor standards. They have social security and pension benefits, health insurance, childcare and opportunities for skill development and career advancement.Manymembers of GreenKraft are earning money for the first time in their lives. To support them, the POWER project provides life skills training in key areas like digital banking, nutrition and health. So far, the POWER initiative has set up 28 women-owned collective enterprises across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. It has helped over 6,800 women in rural and tribal areas become successful producers and entrepreneurs. Jason Chiang is a freelance writer based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
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Up Change
EDITION 3 2022 29
Above and left: Women artisans who received training through the POWER project are helping reduce carbon footprints by recycling local natural fibers like banana, bamboo and non-timber forest produce into ecofriendlyproducts.
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Nexus alum and claytoalternativeecofriendlyemissioncreatewasteAngirusstart-upusestoalowandtraditionalbricks.
Waste to Wricks
ricks are one of those objects that are easy to overlook because we see them everywhere.
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Even easier to forget is that the production of a single brick has an impact on the environment. It consumes energy and topsoil in the manufacturing process, and each brick releases 100 gm of CO2 in the air during the kiln firing process. Now, take that one brick and multiply it by the 260 billion bricks produced annually in India. The problem is significant. Nexus alum Angirus is a start-up based out of Udaipur that produces an environmentallyconscious alternative to traditional bricks. Known as Wricks, they are a merging of waste and bricks. This environmentallyfriendly, carbon-neutral, strong, lightweight and economically-sound product offers a revolutionary solution, and points the way toward sustainable construction practices.
Kunjpreet Arora, co-founder of Angirus, explains that traditional production practices to create bricks are unbalanced as they consume more resources than they provide. “Traditional clay bricks are made in brick kilns using top layer fertile soil, water and biomass fuel for heating,” describes Arora. “This is a 7 to 14
ByTREVOR L. JOCKIMS AngirusCourtesy
Traditional production practices
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Kubeš/iStock/Ladislav day process of extracting the soil and clay, making a homogenous mixture, letting it dry under sunlight and baking into kilns using coal and biomass fuel.”
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EDITION 3 2022 31
Zero-waste solution Angirus has found an ecofriendly solution in Wricks, turning waste into a useful product, while creating a carbon-neutral impact in its kiln-free production process. Besides the environmental benefits, Wricks are a superior product to the traditional brick in many ways. Made from recycled industrial and plastic waste, Wricks are water-resistant, damp-proof, 30 percent lighter than traditional bricks, and just as strong—or stronger—than traditional clay bricks. In this way, monetary and environmental benefits cooperate with one another. After all, being 30 percent lighter means that Wricks not only “reduce the overall structural weight, thus bringing the costs down, but also increase labor working capacity,” Arora says. Being damp-proof and waterresistant can be especially beneficial in coastal and humid environments. And the environmental benefits cannot be denied. “The most significant environmental benefit of Wricks is that they are made without using our precious natural resources and water, which is already a scarce resource in India. And they do not release harmful greenhouse gases into the environment.”
Nexuswww.angirusind.comAngirusStart-upHubwww.startupnexus.in
The problem here is two-fold. Not only are precious resources expended in the form of water and topsoil, but the firing process produces new pollutants. “Within each process, there are actions of taking something from the environment, the raw materials, and giving something to the environment, the production of waste,” Arora says. It takes significant heat energy to produce a brick and the traditional process is not environmentally conscious. “These methods are inefficient, requiring a lot of energy and topsoil, and pose a significant threat to health and the environment through the large amounts of particulate matter, black carbon, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and other pollutants they release into the atmosphere,” explains Arora.
Left: Wricks are made from recycled industrial and plastic waste.
Above: Lokesh Puri Goswami (left) and Kunjpreet Arora, co-founders of Angirus.
The market’s inertia The first bricks were made thousands of years ago, so there is significant headwind to creating a willingness for change in the marketplace, but also an implication that the product could benefit from a 21st century update. “Changing one’s perspective from traditional bricks to Wricks is quite challenging,” says Arora. “However, we have also seen a positive response from environmentally-conscious builders and architects. We plan to start with this segment first.” From there, once confidence and realworld data are obtained, market expansion can be Agreataccelerated.help in getting this revolutionary product off the ground has been the Nexus start-up hub, of which Angirus is an alum. “Nexus proved to be a great opportunity for Angirus and me,” says Arora. “The sessions were beneficial to understand the market in-depth, connect with international and national mentors and product validation. And it’s a great platform to connect with likeminded people, other start-ups in similar spaces and enthusiastic people across the globe.”Theprogram has also helped Arora continue to build a network through Nexus. “I still get inquiries and connections from people who get to know about Angirus through Nexus,” she says. “There are a lot of other opportunities, workshops and sessions by the U.S. delegates that have been shared with us and encourage us to be part of it.” With the United States’2050 goal of carbon neutrality, it is possible for Wricks to enter other markets as well. “I see a great opportunity for Angirus in the U.S. market,” says Arora. “We can help the United States achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2050 by switching from brick kilns to Wricks technology.” Trevor L. Jockims teaches writing, literature and contemporary culture at New York University.
32 EDITION 3 2022 GoodDotCourtesy The ByMICHAELGALLANT Smart Protein https://gfi-india.orgGFIIndiasmartproteinsummit.comSummitOnlineGo
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Plant-based smart protein dishes from GoodDot (left and below), GFC (below center) and Gardein (below far right).
Smart proteins are plant-based alternative foods that offer similar flavor and textures to meat and dairy products. According to Varun Deshpande, GFI-India’s managing director, innovators across the world are working to produce “the future of protein—delicious, nutritious meat, eggs and dairy, made from plants, cells and microorganisms.”Majorfoodcorporations too have stepped in and now use new technologies to create plant-based versions of everything from seafood to cheese, to the more traditional keema curry or biryani. For instance, Udaipur-based GoodDot’s products include Meatless mince, Unmutton dhaba curry, Vegicken chunks in brine and more. The ingredients include flax seeds, rice, gram flour, oats, pea protein, soy, quinoa and wheat fiber. To our taste buds, these versions may be indistinguishable from conventional meat-based versions, but they require only a fraction of energy and resources to create.
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The Good Food Institute India works with innovators and market leaders to create plant-based meat alternatives for sustainable eating habits. s there a future for producing food that does not leave a massive carbon footprint? The Good Food Institute India (GFI-India) thinks so. Through its “smart protein revolution,” GFI-India is working with innovators to make the switch to meat alternatives easier and create a space for a just, secure and sustainable global food system.
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Left, below left and below: Food corporations now use new technologies to create plant-based versions of everything from eggs to seafood, to the more traditional keema curry or biryani. far right: Varun Deshpande, GFI-India’s managing director.
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The Smart Protein Summit had something to offer for all its participants—from curious students to food industry veterans. Over the span of three days, smart protein innovators presented their work, experts huddled on topics like plant-based food labels and infrastructure and discussed investment and financing. The summit also featured conversations focused on preserving the welfare of farmers as smart protein gains momentum, and the industry’s impact on efforts to battle climate change. While the summit is just one indicator of the successes India’s smart protein industry has enjoyed, Deshpande asserts that much still needs to be done to meet the world’s everexpanding nutritional needs.
“We need all the talent, experienced mentorship, investment, scientific research and government support we can get,” he explains. Given how dramatically industries like renewable energy have transformed over the last few decades, “we believe remaking meat is the next big thing,” he says, “and not a moment too soon.”
We
In November 2021, over 1,500 Indians gathered virtually at the annual Smart Protein Summit to address problems of global hunger, food production and climate change. At the event, more than 70 expert speakers— scientists, government officials, researchers, venture capitalists, developers and more— discussed the future of food, and how India’s rapidly growing smart protein industry can help battle hunger around the world. It was a landmark year for the nascent industry, with over 50 Indian smart protein start-ups working hard to develop new technologies and food products. More than half of the firms were founded just within the last two years. “We’re also seeing an influx of supporting companies,” says Deshpande, “including ingredient suppliers, comanufacturers, technical consultants, equipment manufacturers and other consultants—all showing interest in the smart protein industry.”
Smart protein revolution Deshpande says the “smart protein revolution” comes at a time when the world is facing the monumental challenge of feeding a projected population of 10 billion people, onesixth of whom will be in India, by 2050. “We need a more secure, sustainable and just food system, and the smart protein sector is building exactly that,” he says. “But the story of the smart protein sector in the developing world, in countries like India, is just beginning to unfold and pick up steam.”
Nurturing start-ups GFI-India’s vital work nurturing those startups, which also includes cultivating plantbased efforts within larger corporations, was on full display at the summit. The opening keynote address was delivered by Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director of Nestlé India Limited. Other speakers included leaders from major corporations like Britannia Industries Limited and Cargill India. “Alot of our work over the last few years with plant-based start-ups and bigger corporations is finally coming to fruition as they begin to enter the market,” says Deshpande. “And with platforms like Amazon Fresh and Swiggy’s Instamart launching plantbased products, it’s now easier for consumers to access foods that provide all the sensory and cultural elements that animal-derived meats offer, without breaking the planet.”
The Smart Protein Summit will return this October in New Delhi. Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City. need a more that.buildingproteinandjustsustainablesecure,andfoodsystem,thesmartsectorisexactly
36 EDITION 3 2022 idFdEhPhhPotograpscourtesyratamucatonounaton High ImpactHigh Impact Development socialprojectscost-effectiveturnsupportsVenturesfundsandInnovationideasthatcanintolarge-scale,globalwithhighimpact. Developing ByPAROMITAPAIN
Above and above far left: Pratham’s Teaching at the Right Level framework gives primary school students the required teaching support to align with their current learning levels.
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InnovationsInnovations
EDITION 3 2022 37
here can be no dearth of ideas and innovation in a population that has historically created numerous change makers and thinkers. But it is not always easy to identify those few ideas that would stand on the firm ground of scientific evidence, have a framework that can produce high social returns, and have the potential of being scaled to reach large Developmentcommunities.Innovation Ventures (DIV) is one of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) open innovation programs that fund breakthrough solutions to complex development challenges. DIVprovides flexible grant funding to entrepreneurs, researchers and organizations, both for profit and not-for-profit, devoted to solving intractable social problems through innovation. The program funds innovations across all sectors and geographies where USAID works. DIVis always open to applications and so are its T
funding rounds. “What we’re looking for is high impact, cost-effective, scalable and financially sustainable solutions to the problems that are persistent in global development,” says DIVchief Sasha Gallant. By funding innovation and focusing on rigorous evidence, DIVprojects have the potential to impact millions of lives at a fraction of the usual cost. Since 2010, USAID/DIVhas funded more than 250 innovation grants in 47 countries. Around 60 of these innovations are from India. Pratham Education Foundation and Dimagi, Inc. are two DIVaward recipients. Funding innovation Dimagi developed CommCare—a mobile system for frontline workers in health care, among other sectors, to aid in decisionmaking, online registrations and dissemination of critical information. Dimagi is based in Massachusetts, with offices in New Delhi, India and Cape Town, South Africa. The CommCare system is so effective that it has been adopted by organizations in 80 countries and employed by millions of frontline health care workers. In India, Dimagi is working with organizations across the country to implement numerous CommCare projects. The mobile
phone-based software platform has helped strengthen community health worker programs and improve community health care and service delivery to millions. In Bihar, CommCare has enabled health care workers to monitor women participants in a nutritionfocused conditional cash transfer program.
Recently, the project secured a $100 million grant in follow-on funding from the Gates Foundation to scale in Bihar along with a total follow-on funding of $300 million to scale globally.Pratham, a nonprofit organization with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, developed a method called Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), which gives primary school students the required teaching support to align with
Jonathan Jackson, CEO of Dimagi, says its DIVgrants have been vital to the organization’s growth. “Unlike most funders, USAID/DIVallowed us to take a bet on turning our innovation into a product, and our product into a business model,” he says. “They encouraged us to scale and raise our targets every step of the way.”
38 EDITION 3 2022 When we are working tremendous.isitthebepeoplenumberIndia,innovatorsinstitutionswithandintheofthatcanimpactedbywork,whenreallyworks,quite iDhhPotograpscourtesymag
The CommCare application allowed workers to register beneficiaries, calculate children’s weight status and keep track of the availability to and utilization of services by beneficiaries each month, improving health care.
Scalable and cost effective Applications for DIVgrants must meet three important criteria: impact, costeffectiveness and scale. “We are looking for solutions to problems that impact millions of people around the world,” says Gallant. “We can’t fund smaller scale innovations and interventions that only meet the needs of a particular community. We must think broadly about the difference the project could make.”
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Below: Frontline workers learn how to use a mobile service delivery application built on Dimagi’s CommCare platform. Below left: Frontline workers use mobile apps built with the CommCare platform to facilitate home visits in Bihar.
www.usaid.gov/divDIVPrathamwww.pratham.orgDimagiwww.dimagi.com
Pioneering solutions
Devyani Pershad, head of international collaborations at Pratham, says, “Starting with support of critical Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) designed to test the TaRL approach in India to supporting the scale up of the first international collaboration in Zambia, USAID/DIVhas been a significant support in the TaRLjourney enabling foundational skills for children.”
Context is also important. “We’re looking for innovations that are contextually appropriate,” she says. “We are hoping to fund innovators who really know the context in which they’re working.” Pratham, for instance, has been working within the Indian context in multiple states for a very long time. “It is not about parachuting in and dropping a solution,” says Gallant “but really understanding what it will take to make a difference.” Paromita Pain is an assistant professor of Global Media Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.
One of the things that really captured DIV’s attention was Pratham’s focus on scale from the start. “They deeply understand the systems they’re working in and they’re working to complement those systems, ensuring that when they find something that works, it’s not just going to work in a small, controlled setting, but it is something that can work at a larger scale,” says Gallant. As an organization, Pratham is also committed to testing its approach. “There is this alignment of evidence generation and innovation that is so important,” says Gallant. “Pratham has used research to iterate on its innovation in order to keep making it better, more effective and more scalable.”
EDITION 3 2022 39 their current learning levels. TaRLhas been shown to cost-effectively improve student learning outcomes in short periods. Besides reaching over 900,000 children in over 21 states across India, Pratham’s “learning camps” indirectly impact 15.7 million students through partnerships. As of 2021, the model has been replicated by national government partners in over 10 countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. “One of the challenges, but also real benefits of working in India, is the reality of scale,” says Gallant. “When we are working with institutions and innovators in India, the number of people that can be impacted by the work, when it really works, is quite tremendous.”
Dimagi was among the earliest projects that DIVfunded in India. Dimagi applied for a DIVaward in its early stages and has been working with them since 2010. “They’ve been really able to iterate and adapt with a focus on impact, scale and usability that’s allowed them to reach and actually bring meaningful change to the lives of millions around the world,” says Gallant. Jackson credits the DIV grants Dimagi received for its unprecedented scale and growth over the last 10 years.
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The mission definitely did not disappoint. It was better than what I thought it would be. I expected the views. But what I didn’t expect was how fun it is to do so many different kinds of science on a daily basis and be involved in so many different teams. Why did you become an astronaut? As a child, a lot of times people would say, I want to be a firefighter or a doctor. In my case, probably as a 5-year-old, my mom has pictures of me dressed up as an astronaut on the “what you want to be when you grow up” day. So, I definitely had an early desire to do that. As I got a little older, I started to walk that back a little bit to figure out what’s realistic. In high school or early college, I probably wouldn’t have told you I want to be an astronaut. I was more focused on becoming a pilot in the Air Force. But, just the idea of exploring was always something really fascinating to me—the idea of adding to human knowledge or trying to find and discover new things. As I got older I was very interested in physics, space and understanding theSo,universe.Ithink the combination of trying to explore and trying to understand how the universe works was sort of a natural push towards being an astronaut. It wasn’t until I was in test pilot school that it finally dawned on me that there is a possibility of applying to NASA. At that point, it wasn’t even so much about a personal goal. It became more about the best use of my skills, and being an astronaut is a perfect way to serve. Most of the time, we’re not the people who think up experiments, ideas or theories, but we’re the ones who get to go up into space and test them out for people. And just pushing the bounds of what’s possible for humanity is
ChariastronautAmericanIndianRajaspent177daysontheInternationalSpaceStation,whereheconductedhisfirstspacewalkandhadabird’s-eyeviewofEarth’satmosphere.
Excerpts from an interview with Chari about his fascination with space and the science carried out on this “national laboratory” thousands of kilometers above Earth. What has yourexperience as a trained fighterpilot and first NASArookie commanderof a spaceflight been like?
AView From ByKRITTIKASHARMA
It’s been a pretty amazing journey. I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of help along the way, whether it’s been family or trainers. In terms of going from the Air Force to NASA, there’s a lot of similarity in the training. There are a lot of skill sets that transfer in terms of controlling a vehicle and talking to the control team.But there’s also a lot that is very different. NASAis a more flat organization and not as hierarchical. It’s important to work as a team of peers, as a crew, as opposed to an individual in a jet. There are a whole lot of other differences, like spacewalks, robotics or other elements of the training beyond just flying.Ithink the journey for me has been really, really fun. Just getting to work at Johnson Space Center and working with the people committed to something bigger than themselves is a big reason why I enjoy doing what I do.
n early May 2022, Raja Chari, an Indian American astronaut at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reentered Earth’s atmosphere with three other crewmates after spending nearly six months on the International Space Station (ISS). From being a colonel in the United States Air Force to the first rookie commander of a spaceflight, Chari is the 599th human in space, and this was his debut flight.
Above right: Kayla Barron (left) and Raja Chari harvest cotton cell samples grown for the Plant Habitat-05 space agriculture experiment on the International Space Station, that is exploring the genetic architecture of regeneration.plant Right: Expedition 66 flight engineers Thomas Marshburn (from left), Raja Chari and Mark Vande Hei inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. why I want to continue to be an astronaut and why I became an astronaut to begin with.
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To share articles go to https://spanmag.com EDITION 3 2022 41
What was the mission and goal of the ISS spaceflight? We got up there in November 2021 and came back after about six months. We were part of Expedition 66 and 67. Every four to six months there’s a new expedition, which is essentially a group of astronauts executing International Space Station operations. For our particular timeframe, we had about 300-plus different experiments. The station has been up there, continuously crewed, for over 20 years. Apart of our job is the maintenance and upkeep of the station—whether that’s the environmental control or fundamental systems like our wastewater, food, water or spacewalks to fix things on the outside of the station or install new equipment. In those six months, we also capture and release vehicles and that’s what brings cargo to and from the space station.
We did four spacewalks amongst our crew. The first one was right off the bat when we got up there. Kayla [Barron] and Tom [Marshburn] did a spacewalk to fix a failed antenna. Later on, Kayla and I did a spacewalk where the focus was installing a new structure that will give the station the ability to install new solar panels. The solar panels that are installed now are the original ones. These new ones are smaller and generate more power that we will need to keep the space station at least through 2030 and beyond.
In the third spacewalk, Matthias [Maurer] and I installed jumpers, which is basically a plumbing repair. And then towards the end of our mission, the Axiom Mission spent 15 days on the station. That was the first commercial launch. For commercial vehicles to come to the space station is a new era for spaceflight within NASAas we look at privatizing low Earth orbit and allowing NASAto focus on
What was the most difficult habit to let go off on Earth afterhaving spent that long in microgravity? I think the habit that I most wish I could do is being in the flow places. I find it amazingly inefficient to have to get up and walk Raja Chari shows off a taco made with fresh chile peppers harvested from inside the International Space Station’s Advanced Plant Habitat.
What were yourkey takeaways from the six months you spent in microgravity? I think one of the unexpected things was just the joy of working with such a great crew. I didn’t know how much of a difference having a great crew could be. It was also really cool to be a part of experiments that the ground team’s scientists or engineers thought of and worked for years to get on the space station, and getting the data for them. I think the other big takeaway was how thin the atmosphere is. That layer of air over Earth is so minuscule compared to the space around it, and even to Earth below it. That just really struck me—how everything that I know or understand or have a conscious memory of is in that little tiny layer of air. And how important it is that we figure out somehow, as a society, as humanity, to preserve our planet, because it’s all we have.
42 EDITION 3 2022 exploration of the Moon and Mars, and hopefully turning over a lot of low Earth orbit operations to private industry. What was yourfirst spacewalk experience like? It felt a lot like being in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL)—the pool we used to train. So many people gave us advice prior to the first spacewalk to try to keep our eyes on what’s in front of us. Some people can get the sensation that they’re falling, and even though they’re obviously not falling, just that visual sensation can be overwhelming. Though I didn’t have that problem, to avoid even having that possibility, I was very focused on looking at the handrail in front of me. Kayla and I had trained a lot together in our astronaut candidate training in the NBL and so it felt just like an NBLrun as I was looking at her doing the body checks, checking her lights, her tools and other configurations. I tried to stay very focused, almost to a fault I’d say, on my first spacewalk. For me it was very similar to flying in the Air Force, where you are really focused on the mission and everything is scripted. It wasn’t until maybe 45 minutes in, where I stopped and looked around a bit and down through the truss structure to the Earth. But I actually had to stop and take it all in. What were yourinitial days like aboard the ISS? The best analogy I’ve heard is that you’re like a baby. You can’t feed yourself, you can’t go to the bathroom on your own, you can’t really do anything. All you really want to do is sleep. You don’t even want to eat when you first get there as you don’t have much of an appetite. The first 48 hours was just getting used to the sensation like you’re falling all the time. I also experienced brain fog, where you have to think really hard about doing things. And that’s because on Earth you can multitask. For example, I can be talking on the phone and I can put my drink down on the table knowing it’s not going to go anywhere. In space, everything floats away. So it’s very hard to multitask. For me, roughly about two to three weeks in, my brain flipped the switch in terms of orientation.
Just pushing the bounds of what’s possible for humanity is why I want to continue to be an astronaut and why I became an astronaut to begin with.
NASACourtesy
Below right: Chari (left) and Kayla Barron examine samples during geology training in Arizona in 2017.
In terms of traditions we still hang on to, I have two middle names—an American and Indian one. That’s a tradition we kept on with our children as well. Unfortunately, [my] father passed away, but we still talk about that with our children and try to keep them connected with my family’s roots and where we came from. I still see my cousins and now my cousin’s children. So we stay connected as a family in that regard. We tried to keep the tradition of getting together with family reunions in different parts of the country. My father was the sponsor for most of my cousins, who are now in various places in the United States and around the world. I think that’s also a pretty unique Indian American thing—having lives both in the United States and also feeling connected to family back in India.
What was yourexperience growing up as an Indian American? Are there any traditions you still hold on to? My dad was the one who immigrated from India. And he made a really conscious effort, along with my mom, to keep us integrated with the local Indian American community. We grew up in northeast Iowa. We would meet [the local Indian community] at the public halls that were rented out on all the major Indian holidays. I have very distinct memories of that growing up; it was almost like a second social family. Had my dad not done that, there wouldn’t be a whole lot of Indian Americans I would come into contact with in school. It was just a handful of us.
Raja raja-chari-nasa-astronautwww.nasa.gov/content/Chari
The more subconscious and physical thing that I very quickly [needed to] adapt to was holding things when I came back. The first time we were on the plane from the landing site to Johnson Space Center, they handed me a container of blueberries. It had some condensation on the outside. I immediately dropped it as my fingers and brain couldn’t do the computations to figure that this had condensation, so it’s a little more slippery. Even though I knew I needed to squeeze it, I just couldn’t make my fingers squeeze hard enough and it fell right out of my hands.
EDITION 3 2022 43 somewhere back. [In space] you could wait until the last second if you had a meeting because you could get there so fast by just shooting down the module and swinging around the corner.
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Right: Raja Chari is lowered into the training pool for spacewalk training at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston.
StaffordNASA/BillMarkowitzNASA/Robert
Above: NASA astronaut Raja Chari tests using tools while wearing a spacesuit glove inside the International Space Station’s U.S. Quest airlock.
RNI-6586/60underRegistered NASAcourtesyPhotographs
Below: Chari sequences DNA from bacteria samples using the BioMole Facility to understand the microbial environment on the International Space Station.
