Science in

Combating Poverty

Rural India’s Innovations

Lead India: Choosing the

Future Leader of India

Making ICT work for the

Common Man

ISRO in Human
Development

Some Inconvenient Questions

for India’s NGO Movement
Mr Anbumani Ramdoss, Minister for
Health, Government of India, patting a
SCOPE’S World Cycle Tour volunteer, a
member of SCOPE’S anti-tobacco
campaign team
 TEAM 3
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Catalyst
FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
EDITORIAL TEAM
Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy
Chief Editor
An insight into complex problems of development chiefeditor@afhd.org
and an attempt to provide solutions
Ms. Bharati Kalasapudi
MISSION Ms. Sandhya Rawal
Mr. Lakshman Kalasapudi
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movement that can promote sustainable
development and best practices; Dr. Srinivasa Rao
Editor
To disseminate information on the NGO movement to editor@afhd.org
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sustainable development to catalyze the process Dr. Suri Sehgal
of human development. Mr. M. Chittaranjan
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Published by: EDITORIAL BOARD

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 HIGHLIGHTS OF EARLIER ISSUES OF Catalyst
FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

HIGHLIGHTS OF JANUARY '06 ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS OF MARCH '07 ISSUE

Scaling up Primary Education Safe Drinking water in
Services in Rural India Villages
Healthcare in India Water Wars: National
Water Management in 21st Problems from a
Century - Policy and Planning Regional Perspective
Food and Nutrition Through Rain Centre in Chennai,
Value Addition to Agri India
Resources Get Real, Coke: Water
Scaling up Primary Health Rights Protest
Services in Rural India Promoting Effective Waste
Cross-Fertilization Needed Management: The Clean
Between Universities & Himalaya Initiative
Scientific Labs Water Bond For Safe
Balasakhi - A Village Voice Drinking Water
Need for a Catalyst

HIGHLIGHTS OF OCTOBER '06 ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS OF JUNE '07 ISSUE

Better Understanding of
The Evolving Role of NGOs in Corporate Social Responsiblity
Poverty Alleviation
CSR to Society’s
Mann Deshi Sahakari Bank -
A boon for Women Advantage or Corporates’?
Catalyst Salutes Ashoka 2007 CSR: Interesting
Fellows Revelations from a Survey
Highway Rescue Project Corporate Social
Magsaysay Award for Arvind Responsibility: Two
Kejriwal Exemplary Corporations
Best Visionaries Moving into Cit- PM’s Advice to Corporates
izen Sector Fall of an NGO Titan
SKOLL Foundation
Biodiversity for
Awards 2006
Why Do We Need Social Entrepreneurs ? Development

HIGHLIGHTS OF JANUARY '07 ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS OF OCTOBER '07 ISSUE

Non-Resident Indians' Share and Care Foundation
contributions - Answering Excellence in Education
a Call to Action One Acre Wonder
Eliminating Elephantiasis and An Experiment in Social
Waterborne Diseases Entrepreneurship
Association for India's National Policy on
Development - Improving Voluntary Sector
Literacy in Rural India Who Can Fix Poverty?
Leading India toward Millenni- Sangopita: A Shelter for the
um Development Goals Care of Special Children
How NRIs Can Help in Poverty Need for a New
Alleviation Development Paradigm
Is Mega Philanthropy Going to Make a Difference? Learning Journey
Nobel Peace Prize 2006 - Muhammad Yunus Choosing the Type of NPOs
Indian National Development Congress NGOs for Development
6 CONTENTS
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Science in Lead India: Choosing the

Combating Rural India’s Innovations Future Leader of India
Poverty...10 Lakshman Kalasapudi...25 ... 30, 31

Preface — Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy ...7 The Varsha Raingun ...26 Swaminathan Leads a
New Movement ...41
Science: A Tool for Social ReMeDi - Rural Health
Transformation Diagnostic Innovation ...27 Pedal Power Technology
— Dr. Ch. Mohan Rao...9 — Dr. Narendra Shah...46
Indian Science Critical to Faster Barefoot College ...28, 29
Human Development Models of Sustainable
Views of prominent people ...12, 13 Building Technologies Technology — D.K. Mishra...48, 49
to help Poor — Ankit Gupta...32
How Ghosts Can be Decanted A Nano-Solution to A
from Water A Lively Discussion on Mega Problem
— Prof. A. Ramachandraiah...14 Sustainable Development ...34 — D. Balasubramanian... 50
Solar Lanterns to Replace
Kerosene Lamps ...15 , 16 Eradication of Corruption Some Inconvenient Questions for
Accelerates Development India’s NGO Movement
Global Awareness to Eliminate — Kris Dev... 35 — Bhamy V. Shenoy...52, 53
Kerosene Lighting Sehgal Foundation gets
— D.T. Barki...17 Best Water NGO Award ...37 Informal Workers Benefit from
Solar Expo Showcases NIDAN ...54
Innovations India’s Millions Denied Access
— Narayan Ayyagari...19 to Modern Energy Profile of Dr. M.P. Parameswaran
— UNDP Report...38 ...55
the tele.graam ...20
Energy pie chart & Indian Science: Profile of D.T. Barki ...56
To Go Solar or Not ?
Time to be Innovative ...39
— Dr. Satyanarayana Gavarasana...21, 22
Can Scientists do More
Winners of Rural Making ICT work for the for Development?
Innovation Fund ...23, 24 Common Man — Chandrasekhar..40 — Dr. Srinivasa Rao...58

Institute of Rural Research and ISRO in Human Development Informal Workers Benefit
Development — Y. Harshavardhana Rao, from NIDAN ...52
— Pooja O. Murada... 36 and Lahary Ravuri... 43, 44, 45
 PREFACE 7
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

W
E are happy to bring this special issue of Catalyst during the 95th Indian Science
Congress. We are taking this opportunity to reflect with you on how together we
can help India's poor. Dr. Rao has given a startling comparison of the productivity of
Indian scientific institutions in his article. According to him, India with more than a billion peo-
ple and 129,000 scientists is investing about $21 billion a year (on ppp basis). But India is able
to develop only about 1000 patents a year.

It is more than likely that NRIs graduated by Indian educational institutions may be produc-
ing far more patents than their counterparts in India. Why do we have such a deplorable sit-
uation in India? Why has the scientific community failed to develop a strong NGO movement
to question this status quo when we have hundreds of NGOs for every conceivable subject in
India? Why do we continue to neglect the exodus of our scientists and technologists and triv-
ialie it by stating that the brain drain is better than a brain in the drain? What are we doing
to draw on the brain bank to solve the low productivity in educational institutions?

What should be done to attract bright students to take up science? the Knowledge Commis-
sion has recommended to start 30 central universities to overcome this problem. When the
existing premier institutions like IITs, and IISc are finding it difficult to recruit outstanding pro-
fessors, where is India going to find the qualified people for these universities? In addition,
there is also the social and political controversy of reservation which will make this problem
even more complex.

During every Indian Science Congress, Prime Ministers make the usual speeches asking the
scientific community to take up the problems affecting the common man. But we all know
that such exhortations are conveniently forgotten first by the political class then by bureau-
cracy, and finally by the scientists. Whether it the natural science or social science faculties,
both have failed to identify the basic problems affecting India's development.

No insightful research is being conducted to find the level of poverty in India determined by
the outmoded concept based on calories), the level of literacy (still based on signature sign-
ing), ways to fight caste discrimination, the reasons for the failure of quota system to help the
downtrodden, reasons for failure of socialistic economic system to solve the problem of pover-
ty, etc. In the case of natural sciences, our agricultural scientists have failed to assist the farm-
ers to improve productivity. India used to have high levels of agricultural yields without using
chemical fertilizers. Why have scientists failed to promote natural farming? Why have they
failed to anticipate the water and energy crises and find solutions for them? Why have they
failed to unlock the wisdom in Indian system of medicine based on herbs, and yoga?

Even when we consider IT and BT, where India is considered as a leader in business outsourc-
ing, these two technologies have singularly failed to help the poor. In fact, the increasing
income disparity and attraction of the better educated towards these sectors has given rise to
little understood Dutch Disease which is affecting the rest of economy. We will not be over-
stating the situation if we conclude that scientific community has failed India's poor despite
the resources allocated to them so far. Without the help of scientists it is just not possible to
solve poverty problem. We need creative and insightful strategies to improve the productivi-
ty on a war footing. We are hoping this year's science congress will come with such strate-
gies.

Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy

8 SCIENCE
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

GENERAL PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE

W
ELCOME to the beautiful mountain-sea interface city of Visakha-
patnam and to the famous Andhra University campus, a centre of
excellence for higher education. The university received benevo-
lent nurturing of peerless teachers and educators like Dr. C.R.Reddy,
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Dr. Suri Bhagavantham. The institution
that attracted icons of administration, science, and technology, Dr. V.S.Krish-
na, Prof. Jnanananda, Prof. B.R.Rao and Prof. Koteswaram, to mention a
few, is hosting the 95th session of the Indian Science Congress during
03-07 January, 2008.

The Indian Science Congress and its Organizing Committee feel greatly hon-
oured by the gesture of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, With best wishes,
Dr.Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy, in consenting to be the Chief Patron. The focal
theme of the Congress, "Knowledge Based Society using Environmentally
Sustainable Science & Technology", is timely and relevant to the current glob-
al scenario of conflict between 'Development' and 'Environment'. India, with
its rich cultural and knowledge heritage, has chosen the right path of promot-
ing excellence in science and technology since the days of Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru. Right now the major task before the country is to take steps to link
with action, which is exactly what has been happening under the leadership
of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singhji. The current Science Congress
addresses issues and phenomena relating to contemporary global and nation-
al interests and important subjects like Space, Nanoscience, Evergreen Revo- Prof. RAMAMURTHI
lution, Climate Change, Global Warming, Renewable Energy, Health Securi- RALLAPALLI
ty, Traditional Knowledge, Ethno Medicine and Rural Empowerment through
Knowledge connectivity. Some innovative areas receiving focus for the first General President, ISCA
time are Defense Studies and Technologies, Vedic Science and Physics and (2007-08), ISRO Hon.
Vedanta. Several eminent scholars like, Prof. C.N.R.Rao, Prof. M.G.K.Menon, Visiting Scientist
Prof. M.S.Swaminathan, Prof. U.R.Rao, Prof. T.Ramasami and Dr. (Mrs). Former Vice-Chancellor,
Manju Sharma from our country and Nobel Laureates, Dr. George Smoot, INSA Senior Scientist,
Dr. Robert Curl Jr, Dr. Paul Nurse, and Dr. Roger Kornberg, have consented Department of Fishery
to speak at the Congress. Science and
Aquaculture, Sri
As General President of the Indian Science Congress, I have great pleasure in Venkateswara University,
extending a cordial welcome to all the delegates to the Congress. I wish them Tirupati - 517502, A.P.
a very memorable stay in Visakhapatnam which offers the very best of
knowledge and recreational opportunities.
 SCIENCE 9
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

SCIENCE:
A Tool for Social Transformation
DR Ch. MOHAN RAO
Science and technology will drive our country both in improving quality
of life of its population as well as its mindset.

S
CIENCE is a proven tool for social transformation.
What can scientists do to catalyse the process of
human development in our country? Scientists have
chosen science because of their innate desire and the
intellectual satisfaction. They should pursue the line of
activity that interests them most. However, in addition to
curiosity-driven basic research, a large number of scien-
tists can use the existing knowledge and tools to develop
ways that can directly contribute to human welfare.
Science has helped achieve incredible improvements in
human development and quality of life. Scientists have
brought about a green revolution enhancing food produc-
tion significantly. Communication has reached every nook
and corner of India. Cell phones are everywhere. The
satellite instructional telvision experiment (SITE) demon-
strated how well India could use the advanced technolo-
gy for the socio-economic needs. Our space programme
has become self-sufficient. Significant developments have
been registered in our defence reasearch. Iron and steel,
cement, automobiles, computers, and information tech-
nology have seen giant strides. In my opinion, scientists,
technologists and industrialists have done their part
exceedingly well and contributed to the development of
the nation.
"pyramid model"* developed for eye care by Dr. G.N.Rao
are necessary. There is a pleasure in solving small issues.
By using existing knowledge, we could develop a DNA-
based diagnostic chip for eye infections. This process did
not involve much of research; it was mostly a develop-
mental activity. The product, however, has turned out to
be extremely useful, and all the participants are very sat-
isfied with the outcome.
One of the primary requirements for sustained contri-
butions by the manufacturing sector is quality assurance
as was proved in Japan. International markets require a set
of parameters to be monitored for a specific product. A
lack of this is severely compromising our market share.
Scientists can develop tools to monitor quality in many
areas including pharma, natural products, processed food
etc. These will lead to products that are marketable, not
necessarily "absolutely new- never before" products. India
has the capability to produce such novel and high-tech
products. We should look at the possibilities in software-
products (not just services), new drugs, high-tech com-
munication and computation systems, aerospace and
automobile industry. Higher GDP and appropriate sharing
systems should contribute to the overall human develop-
ment.

Small innovations can go a long way. Waterpurification,
small handheld sensors to detect pathogens and pollu-
tants in water; non-polluting, renewable energy; simple
ways of balancing the nutrition; innovations in imparting
education; protection from vectors such as mosquitoes are
some areas for immediate consideration. Community par-
ticipation is very important to achieve the desired goals.
Models involving rural populations, comparable to the
Science and technology will drive our country both in
improving quality of life of its population as well as its
mindset. Hopefully our country can be free of the shackles
of superstitions and everyone, regardless of religion, caste,
or gender, can get equal access to education, health and
opportunity for growth, success and happiness.
*Community Eye Health Journal (2005)
18 (54), pps61-s62

Dr Ch. Mohan Rao is the Deputy Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular
Biology in Hyderabad. He obtained MSc and PhD in Chemistry. A fellow of the
Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Science, National Academy of
Science, India and Andhra Pradesh Academy of Science, he combines molecular
biological and biophysical approaches to address problems of biophysical interest.
A Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and Ranbaxy Award winner, Dr Mohan Rao is the
Honorary President of Jana Vignana Vedika
10 SCIENCE
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Science in Combating Poverty
nature EDITORIAL ON POVERTY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Many 'developing' countries are much more developed than some people think. Their rapid
progress should inspire scientists and their institutions to do more to confront global poverty.
T
O those living in comfort in the affluent parts of the
world, the stark reality behind the word poverty is
difficult to comprehend. Yet it is more incomprehen-
sible that in the twenty-first century, hundreds of millions
of people are so poor that their lives amount to little more
than a daily struggle to survive. Faced by such desperate
circumstances, the affluent often succumb to an over-
whelming sense of impotence. But defeatism would be a
mistake: the battle against poverty can be won, and sci-
ence can help.
Looking at the powerhouse of medical
research that is the US National Institutes
of Health (NIH), it is difficult to imagine
that it began life 120 years ago in a small
attic room in the Marine Hospital Service
on Staten Island, New York. Joseph Kiny-
oun's one-man 'laboratory of hygiene',
the first federal disease lab, was created
to identify the causes of several infectious
diseases that at the time were responsible
for high mortality in the United States.
The rest is history.
That concept of time is vital to under-
standing poverty. In 1915, the United States resembled
India today on several poverty indicators, from child mor-
tality to life expectancy, and Mexico has now achieved
standards of human development equivalent on some
scores to Sweden in the 1950s. Many of the countries
labelled as 'Third World' are in fact well along the same
trajectory to prosperity as today's wealthy nations. Yet
growing prosperity means that new technologies are
needed even more urgently, because as more countries
escape the shackles of poverty, demand for energy, water
and other resources will exacerbate the problems, such as
climate change, that face our planet.
Exploded myths
It is essential that the myths about poverty are
debunked for policy-makers. Few scientists have done
more in this regard than Hans Rosling, a global-health
researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Extracting and collating vast amounts of data on poverty,
he has created stunning visualizations that vividly dispel
many preconceived ideas about poverty (see
<http://tinyurl.com/34bsyr>http://tinyurl.com
/34bsyr).
This is an example of how science can help to frame the
problems properly. Aid agencies must similarly pay more
attention to evaluating the effectiveness of resource allo-
cations and interventions. Too often in the past, advocacy
of policies has been based on the latest
economic theory in fashion, rather than on
hard evidence. Better data on poverty indi-
cators, in particular at the subnational level,
are also needed if we are to assess the true
effects of the interventions designed to
meet the UN Millennium Development
Goals of halving poverty by 2015
(see<http://www.nature.com/doifind-
er/10.1038/446347a> Nature 446,
347; 2007).
In one welcome initiative, the World
Bank has embraced an innovative approach
to evaluation. Pioneered at the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge,
it borrows the techniques of randomized trials
used in medicine to assess the impact of health and
education initiatives, such as bed nets for malaria,
and the factors that affect their success (see
<http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071024/full/4
49957a.html> page 957).
But fighting poverty more effectively demands a
change of culture not only in aid agencies but also in
academia, in particular to bridge the gap between basic
research and the development of drugs and vaccines for
neglected diseases. The scientific community's reward
structures, excessively focused on papers and patents,
need to encourage efforts to use science to generate tan-
gible benefits - not least in alleviating poverty and its
impacts.

Measured response
Only a few universities have, for example, created
centres for biomedical translational research, evaluated
not by the usual metrics but by their results, much as a
company assesses project performance. Far more could
be done along these lines in agriculture, energy and
health.
That said, there are encouraging signs that decades
of focus on wealth creation are slowly giving way to a
greater social conscience. Technology-transfer offices
at the NIH and many universities, for example, are
increasingly waking up to the importance of making
their patents freely available to groups developing
technologies for use in poor countries (see
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/449158a> Nature 449,
158-159; 2007).
At a time when many sectors of society are actively
engaged in working towards the Millennium Develop-
(Reproduced with permission: 25th October 2007 issue of
POVERTY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
T
HE Global Theme Issue
on Poverty and Human
Development, orga-
nized in October last by the
Council of Science Editors
(CSE), stimulated world-wide interest to raise awareness,
prompt research in poverty and human development,
and disseminate the results of the research widely.
The Council of Science Editors was set up half-a-centu-
ry ago in the name of Council of Biology Editors (CBE).
CBE became CSE in the year 2000. The mission of CSE is
to promote excellence in the communication of scientific
information.
SCIENCE 11
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
ment Goals, the leaders of academic institutions should
be asking themselves how their organizations can do
more to combat poverty and improve global health.
The eight goals themselves are ambitious to say the
least. It will be a tall order to halve extreme poverty,
roll back child mortality and provide universal primary
education, all by 2015.
But many previously impoverished countries are now
well on their way to enjoying levels of child mortality,
longevity and health comparable to those of the richest
countries. That should encourage scientists to help
speed up the progress of those nations that still have
far to go - and to strengthen their scientific infrastruc-
ture. The gleaming, state-of-the art Manhiça Health
Research Center near Maputo in Mozambique, for
example, may seem incongruous with the immediate
disease and misery on its doorstep. Yet in a few
decades it may be remembered as that nation's Staten
Island lab.
nature, the international journal of science)
In the Global Theme
Issue, science journals
throughout the world
published articles on
poverty and human
development. Some 235 science journals from 37
developed and developing countries published more
then 750 articles representing all regions of the
world. Some journals dedicated an entire issue to
the subject of poverty and human development,
others published a few papers, and a few others
published an editorial. Almost 1000 papers were
being published in the Global Theme Issue.
http://biology.plosjournals.org/
12 SCIENCE
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Indian Science Critical to
Faster Human Development
Scientists and administrators across India were asked to comment on the role of
scientists in the accelerating human development in India.
F IRST of all, scientists should aim to improve common
man's life. To fulfill the mission, they should concentrate
on the commoner’s needs and proceed in that direction.
Knowledge is an ocean; no one can swim perfectly in it.
In the past all experiments were confined only to labs. The
importance of lab-to-land concept has been realised, for
example, in agricultural experiments. Our defense is
becoming stronger day by day due to invention of different
weapons including nuclear ones. Why not do it in other sec-
tors also ?
Our scientists are doing a good job in Space Science. We
are launching satellites by using Indian technology proving
our technology has improved vastly. So, balanced develop-
ment should be maintained so that we move forward
towards further development.
Illiteracy and population growth are hurdles in develop-
ment. If these are overcome, then the pace of development
will automatically go up. These issues need to be addressed
effectively. Scientists should tackle these problems and
actively participate in the developmental activities directly
and indirectly.
PROF L. VENUGOPAL REDDY
Vice-Chancellor, Andhra University,
Visakhapatnam.
I NDIAN science can help in human development in much
better way if the resources are pooled and used honest-
Professor Emeritus, Department of Botany, School of
ly for the purpose. Indian science can improve the agricul-
tural output to feed more people. I am sorry to say Indian
scientists are not working to their full potential. They only
should start working harder for development and not for
their personal advancement.
I NDIAN science needs to introduce practical
and skill-based learning as part of science
teaching. Our science teaching is far removed
from reality and does not inculcate scientific
temperament.
Technology involving several branches of sci-
ence and engineering has to be an integral part
of science teaching. The role and importance of
mathematics should be re-emphasised rather
than creating two streams called maths and biol-
ogy Prof Anil Gupta of IIM Ahmedabad and
vice chairman of the National Innovation Foun-
dation has recorded over 65000 innovations in
the rural and urban areas throughout India and
protected their IPR.Some of these innovations
should become part of school and college text
books. The late Dr Yellapragada SubbaRow
should be made an icon of Indian science as he
was involved in discovering ten drugs in the
world. We need to identify inspiring teachers,
give them special facilities, and pay them high
salaries. Rather than taking all the decisions in
Delhi, we need to decentralize decision-making.
PROF. KRISHNAMURTHY KANNAN,
Vice Chancellor,
Nagaland University, Kohima
drkrishnamoorthy@gmail.com
PROF. S.V.S. CHAUHAN,
Life Sciences,
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Khandari Campus,
Agra-282 002:
<mailto:svs250@rediffmail.com>
svs250@rediffmail.com

I NDIAN science has made some contribution to human
development but has fallen short of expectations. While
individuals have made a mark, institutional achievements
have not been significant in academic or industrial circles, in
their contribution to the reduction of human misery in back-
ward regions. CSIR, ICAR and ICMR, DRDO, Department
of Atomic Energy, Electronics, Space, Ocean Development,
Environment and Forests have reservoir of scientific talent,
respectable on many counts, yet unable to make an impact
on the minimum needs of the vast majority of people in the
rural areas. The scientists need to prioritise their tasks and
link them to the schemes of interest and application to Indi-
an society for better ambience, cleaner water, health foods,
and better habitations and the like.
Some individual scientists have functioned in a mission
mode and made a qualitative difference to the lives of ordi-
nary people. CSIR under Dr. Y. Nayudamma tried to trans-
late the results of research in its various laboratories into
action. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan's efforts to take the agricul-
tural research from the labs of ICAR to the far-flung fields
have been more successful. Dr. Abdul Kalam's efforts to
open up the DRDO laboratories to applied research in
industry and to make them relevant to the socially and
physically handicapped like research in Engineering Plastics,
for artificial limbs for the lame - need to be emulated.
Scientists claim to be research-oriented, but they have
created a vast scientific bureaucracy with its own game
rules for stifling differences in opinion. The ego clashes
within the science community have harmed the develop-
ment of scientific temper and result oriented research.
Indian scientists and technologists have not yet learned to
work as a team and develop a multi-disciplinary approach
to problem-solving.
MR. V.K. SRINIVASAN
(IAS-Retd)
“
A small body of determined spirits fired by
an unquenchable faith in their mission
can alter the course of history
— Mahatma Gandhi
SCIENCE 13
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
H UMAN development, poverty eradication and dis-
ease prevention are all dependent on the develop-
ment of science and technology. Since we live in a
global village with intense competition among nations,
the quality of Indian science must be as good, if not
better, than science practiced by industrial countries.
This did not happen in the past mainly because the
Indian patent laws did not recognize product patents.
So, very few innovations occurred with regard to new
product development.
The good news is that Indian patent laws have been
changed under the TRIPS mandate. India can look for-
ward to generation of new and major intellectual prop-
erty that would lead to economic and industrial devel-
opment in India to alleviate poverty and help in human
development.
PROF. ANANDA CHAKRAVARTHY
Distinguished University Professor
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago
pseudomo@uic.edu
B ASICALLY, the routine techniques used by the rural
population can be made simple and economical to
develop the human resource. These technologies will
become the livelihood for common man. Commitment
of the highest order and its implementation are essen-
tial for Indian scientists to accelerate India's human
development.
DR. PRAKASH V. DIWAN,
Project Director
National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and
Research, (NIPER), Hyderabad
diwanpv@gmail.com
“
14 SCIENCE
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

How ‘Ghosts’ can be Decanted from Water

SCIENCE CAN AWAKEN THE SUPERSTITIOUS
PROF. A. RAMACHANDRAIAH
Empowering people with knowledge is the best way to improve the lives of our population.
Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV) serves as a dynamic and coherent bridge
between the scientific community and the general public.

S
OME of the districts in the Telangana region of
Andhra Pradesh are less developed than others. The
percentage of literacy is abysmally low. Mandalagu-
dem in Warangal District has about 1000 households
with an elementary school and no municipal water sup-
ply. Villagers fetch water from a common well in the vil-
lage. Rain water serpentines all over the dirty streets
causing epidemics after every rain. Just as in previous
years, scores of villagers fell ill in 2005 and were affected
by diarrhea. The villagers adopted their usual local super-
natural diagnostic system and belived that the well water
was haunted by ghosts and whosoever fetched water
from the well would fall victim. While villagers conducted
many rituals and offered animal sacrifices to get rid of the
ghosts, the poor village women had no escape from
walking more than ten kms to get drinking water.
The news about the well water of Mandalagudem
"being haunted by ghosts" spread like wildfire and natu-
rally hit the headlines in the popular dailies. No one ques-
tioned how water could be haunted by ghosts ! It was
the evening of October 29, 2005. All the villagers
assembled at the school premises. Two Jana Vignana
Vedika (JVV) members, Ramesh and Manohar, performed
a magic show and told the villagers about the truth
behind the "miracle."
One simple magical item caught the imagination of the
villagers. The JVV members put water in a transparent
glass tumbler and to it added a few drops of ammonium
hydroxide. When they added another few drops of
colourless phenolphthalein, the water in the tumbler
turned suddenly pink to the utter disbelief of the audi-
ence. The performers said to the villagers that the drops
of phenolphthalein were not ghosts. Then they cut and
squeezed a lemon into the tumbler and the people were
amazed again at the decolourisation.
Prof. K. Laxma Reddy, present on the occasion, along
with other JVV volunteers, explained to the villagers that
it was only the chemical phenomena that caused varia-
tions in the characteristics of the drinking water and that
by suitable counter chemical methods, it would be pos-
sible to render the water potable. The activists of JVV
ignited a longish pyre made of coal and walked over the
fire to the dismay of the villagers. They told them that
they did not have any supernatural powers nor did they
believe in the existence of ghosts. When they explained
to the villagers how such fire-walking was possible on
the basis of heat conduction, action-time, anatomy of
the foot soles and the emergence of water-vapour phase
between the sole and the fire-solids, many boys and girls
walked over the fire in the way JVV volunteers did and
believed what they said.
Next day the well water was chlorinated and the vil-
lagers started fetching water from their own village well.
The women were saved from toiling to fetch water from
long distances. Reason won over superstition. A few
months later, the villagers formed a JVV unit there and
its artists performed a playlet entitled 'Neeti Dayyam
Vadilindi' (water cleansed of ghost) at a state level JVV
event.
This is one example of how simple science can make a
difference to people's lives. JVV has been carrying out
several such activities over the years since its inception in
February 1988 (on National Science Day).

Prof. A Ramachandraiah is a Professor of Chemistry at the National Institute of

Technology in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh. He has been actively associated with Jana
Vignana Vedika, a state-level organization, to popularise science. Former president of
JVV, he is currently the convener of science & technology communication wing of the
organization. He is also the editor of Chekumuki, a children's science magazine in Telugu.

Solar Lanterns
to Replace Kerosene Lamps
NEST (Noble Energy Solar Technologies Ltd) is a private company based in Hyderabad,
India which was set up to develop a very small solar lantern, the 'Aishwarya®,'
as a safe substitute for the kerosene wick lamp.
I
T is estimated that in India alone, about 100 million
households use kerosene wick lamps as their main
source of light. Such lamps produce poor quality
light and unhealthy fumes and present a serious fire
risk particularly when used in thatched homes. Fluores-
cent lamps with batteries recharged using solar photo-
voltaics (PV) can provide much better quality and safer
light, but the cost of such a lantern can be prohibitive.
NEST have brought down this cost by making a PV
lantern, small and light-weight, with strict attention to
quality of manufacture. By working closely with a net-
work of dealers and sub-dealers,
through whom they provide credit,
spares and support, NEST has
enabled very poor people in the
most remote villages to buy PV
lanterns without subsidies. Over
75% of Aishwarya lanterns pro-
duced by NEST have been sold in this
way, throughout the states of
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The Ashden judges commended
NEST for developing an attractive
and high-quality lantern specifically
for the poorest households and set-
ting up a financial and service struc-
ture which enables such households to purchase with-
out subsidy and receive proper after-sales support.
These achievements were made possible by effective
management within NEST, their active links with sub-
contractors, and their dealership network.
The Award-winning organisation
NEST was set up by the current Managing Director,
Mr DT Barki, in 1998. He had previously followed a
successful career in the PV industry in India. However,
having seen a baby die in a house fire caused by a
kerosene lamp when he was a child, Mr Barki had a
longstanding wish to use his expertise to eliminate the
SOLAR 15
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
need for kerosene lamps in poor households. The
lantern design and manufacturing systems were devel-
oped over a period of three years, and commercial pro-
duction started in 2001. Production has grown steadily
from a total of 2001-02 to a current production of over
5,000 per month. Over 65,000 lanterns have been
produced and distributed during the past five years.
NEST is managed by a board of directors, and current-
ly employs fifteen people at its office and workshop in
Secunderabad. A dedicated solar module manufactur-
ing plant in Bangalore runs with about seven employ-
ees. The annual turnover in 2004-5 was about Rs 2
crores mostly (about 85%) from the
sale of Aishwarya PV lanterns.
Technology
NEST set out to develop a PV-
powered lantern of a similar size to
a simple kerosene lamp. It was to be
light weight so that it can easily be
carried even by children, affordable
by the poorest households who
have no other alternative but
kerosene, and attractive as a con-
sumer product. They designed the
lantern to allow for easy replace-
ment of key parts rather than
repair.
The lanterns are assembled at the NEST workshop in
Secunderabad. Rigorous attention is paid to quality,
with checks on all individual components and on the
finished lanterns. The lantern is packed as a single item
in a box, so that it can be sold like any other consumer
product. The name 'Aishwarya®' was chosen to
emphasise both the intelligence and aesthetic appeal of
the lantern! In Sanskrit 'Aishwarya' means 'fortune.'
There are many ongoing developments in the global
markets for PV and lighting products, and NEST is
keenly aware of these. One concern is the shortage of
16 SOLAR
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

silicon which is the main material for making PV cells order to allow the dealers to give free
and modules. NEST is taking part in joint ventures to credit, but this is the only form of sub-
process silicon and also to produce amorphous silicon sidy offered. Because the sub-dealers
PV modules which require much less silicon than their know their individual customers, they
current multicrystalline modules. NEST has already are able to collect regular payments
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a even from people who do not have a
Japanese silicon company to work jointly on break- formal address. Customers often need
through polysilicon technology to overcome the silicon to extend their repayment period, but
feedstock problem the world is facing today. Light- the overall track record of repayment
emitting-diodes (LEDs) are increasingly used for small is very good with only about 3-4%
scale lighting, and NEST is keeping a watch on this defaulting on payments.
technology to judge when it might be more appropri-
ate than CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). A kerosene wick lamp used in a home for 3 hours per
night would burn about 7 litres of kerosene per month,
How users pay at a cost of 10 rupees per litre with government sub-
NEST specifically intended the Aishwarya lamp to be sidy. But kerosene is seldom available at this subsidised
sold as an unsub- rate to the poor; they
sidised, commercial often buy it at a very
product in very high black market
remote, poor vil- rate of around 20-25
lages, and about rupees per litre or 70
75% of their pro- rupees per month.
duction to date has Thus the lamp pays
been sold . In order for itself from savings
to achieve this, they on kerosene in less
have established a than two years. After
network of dealers that, the cost of
based in small replacement batteries
towns. Dealers are and CFLs is only 200
independent busi- rupees every 3 years
nesses, sometimes (see below) and the
selling other good or lantern should last for
services as well as more than ten years
lanterns, and are provided with training, stock, spare as the designed life of solar panels is 25 years.
parts, and support by the NEST head office. Each deal-
er recruits a number of sub-dealers who work on com- Some lanterns have been bought and distributed by
mission at village level. Dealerships vary in size but typ- NGOs in social programmes. They have also been
ically sell between 500 and 1000 lanterns per year. given away in promotions and high-profile events,
such as prizes for high-achieving students, in order to
Most customers cannot emphasise the
afford the purchase price value of good
of 1,500 rupees for an quality light. NEST
Aishwarya lamp but are has provided PV
able to buy on credit from street lights for
the dealers. Typically they some government
will be asked to pay 200 programmes and
rupees per month for 8 has also donated
months or 100 rupees per them to some of
month for 16 months. the slum commu-
NEST will sometimes nities around
reduce their own profit in Hyderabad.

NEST MISSION
Global Awareness to Eliminate
Kerosene Lighting
D.T. BARKI
I
N this age of economic globalization and digitalization of
every sphere of life, over 2 billion people world over are
still burning unsafe kerosene to light up their evenings.
Besides the slow poison that the kerosene fumes are, in
India alone 2.5 million people meet with kerosene related
fire accidents, including 350,000 children.
There is nothing good about kerosene, yet many nation-
al Governments provide subsidy and promote this killer fuel
indirectly. During my childhood, in the 60's, I witnessed the
tragic death of a child due to the overturning of a kerosene
lamp in my village. Even after 100 years
of invention of electricity the third world
population does not have access to elec-
tricity, forcing them to use deadly
kerosene lanterns. I've no confidence
that the power-hungry world will spare
a small portion of its grid electricity for
those who burn unsafe kerosene for
lighting. My pessimism is born out of
the fact that while the growing popula-
tion demands more and more power,
One-to-one light comparison between
the faster growing industrial develop- kerosene lamp and solar lamp
ments long for even more energy sup-
ply, making the scenario worse.
Therefore, grid electricity will eventually fail to reach the
kerosene-based households. In fact, it's uneconomical to
draw electrical cables and install several electric poles to meet
THERE'S MUCH MORE TO LIGHT
A sanskrit sloka goes like this: Tamasoma jyotirgamaya,
mrutyorma amrutangamaya. Means, 'O Lord, take us
mortals to the immortality just as you lead us from
darkness to light'.
There is no life without light.
While darkness means contraction, light means expansion.
Light is the symbol of knowledge.
Light moots confidence.
A good light is a great means of education and hence
wisdom.
SOLAR 17
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
a very tiny portion of the world energy
There is
consumption (16.33 trillion
nothing
units/annum). If we are serious about
good about
providing energy to those disadvan-
kerosene,
taged households (just for lighting), we
except its
should consider the solar energy option,
elimination.
which offers several advantages. Gener-
ation of solar electricity is clean and safe and suits low ener-
gy applications such as lighting. Fortunately, the solar power
technology is mature enough to come in to help the needy
immediately.
It's a myth that kerosene is cheaper. In
fact, the rural poor people, who use
kerosene for lighting, are those who pay
more for the light than their urban coun-
terparts. Kerosene lamps are very ineffi-
cient and give very little light output
(Lumen) for the money spent to buy
kerosene. For example, assuming a 5W
incandescent bulb is equivalent to a
kerosene wick lamp, the urban dweller
pays about Rs.25 annually, (Rs.
2.5/unit), whereas the rural poor
spend about Rs.1200 per year. In addition, poor people
have to inhale poisonous kerosene fumes apart from fac-
ing the danger of getting burnt to death at times.
It's time for politicians to reform the national policies so as
to incorporate provision for solar lighting to replace
kerosene-based lamps. At Noble Energy Solar Technologies
(NEST), our mission is to see that there is widespread use of
clean and safe solar lamps in place of the unsafe kerosene
lamps. Sporadic demonstration of solar lighting projects is
not the answer. NEST's sole commitment and campaign is
to provide clean lighting across the globe. In order to see
that this happens there is a need to raise global awareness
among the peoples of the world, ultimately the end user in
particular. dtbarki@usa.net
www.solarnest.net
18 SOLAR
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

AISHWARYA - INDIA
ASHDEN AWARD WINNER

Prince Charles presenting
the Ashden Award for
Aishwarya to DT Barki
A
ISHWARYA Rai may not be
aware of its existence, but this
"clever and attractive" Aish-
warya® has come as a ray of light,
transforming Indian villages among
other parts of the world that have
never had access to electricity. Recipi-
ent of the prestigious Ashden Light
Award for 2005 for innovative and
unique sustainable energy (often
referred as Green Oscar), this
lightweight, portable, eco-friendly and
affordable solar lantern is the brain
child of D.T.Barki.
The Ashden award ceremony, at the
Royal Geographical Society in Central
London, was attended by the then
Britain Secretary of State for Interna-
tional Development and the chair of
the UN's IPCC, RK Pachauri of TERI on
29th June 2005. Later, the award was
presented in a ceremony at the resi-
dence of Prince Charles in London.
The primary goal of Mr.Barki is to
replace the unsafe kerosene lamps (see
box on kerosene) with clean and
affordable solar lamps. Aishwarya®
solar lamp may be a small contribution
in the lives of the poor villagers, but it
has much more to offer to improve
their lives and bring new hope in their
lives.

Head Office: 2-2-647/8/11 & 14, Saibaba Nagar, Bagh Amberpet, Shivam Road, Hyderabad - 500 044, AP, India
US Office: 208, Parkway Drive, Rosylin Heights, New York, USA 11577, Url: www.globalangel.org, globalangels.jct@gmail.com
 SOLAR 19
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Solar Expo Showcases Innovations

ENERGY HARVESTED ECONOMICALLY
NARAYAN AYYAGARI
The solar expo is conducted every two years beginning 2002 and this year it's a
competition "to design, build, and operate the most attractive and
energy-eefficient solar-p
powered house."

E
NERGY is the source of cre- across the world that competed in
First prize
ation and sustainability. showcasing how technology, aes-
With the conventional thetics and architecture can com-
energy resources like coal, oil bine to build a solar-powered ener-
etc depleting, there is a great gy conserving home. Two homes
deal of research into renewable were most noticeable. The "Made
energy. Renewable energy in Germany" from the Technische
sources range from solar energy and Universität Darmstadt home featured
wind energy to bio fuels which can be naturally replen- translucent walls and roof that are composed of photo-
ished. Solar energy is an important renewable energy voltaic cells and combined with German oak gave the
source and is used for a variety of applications like elec- home a resort look. The second home that attracted the
tricity, heat, transportation, lighting etc. Solar energy is most attention was "The Leaf House" by University of
not new; throughout of the history of mankind, solar Maryland. The house was designed as a leaf-like structure
energy has been harnessed and utilized in a vari- with large glass area to bring in light and feeling of
Se
ety of ways. The US Department of Energy con
dp
nature into home. Unsurprisingly, these two
rize
published a timeline of solar energy homes were awarded the 1st and 2nd
usage that gives interesting details prizes for the Solar Decathlon 2007.
about the various solar energy
inventions and initiatives. The Solar Decathlon, apart from show-
casing the most recent innovations of solar
Imagine a home where all energy and its application to residential
the energy needs are met by use, served a larger purpose for the Wash-
solar energy. While such solar ington DC community. A few myths of
homes have been designed solar energy are that it is expensive, aes-
before, a number of limitations thetically ugly, and requires high mainte-
have hindered their acceptabil- nance. The homes featured at the Solar
ity beyond academia and conversationalists. The US Decathlon have given notice that solar energy can be
Department of Energy, BP, and a number of other corpo- harvested economically as well as aesthetically.
rate sponsors have organized a Solar Decathlon on the
national mall at Washington, DC. The expo was hugely http://solardecathlon.org/scores_standings.html
successful and involved teams from 10 major universities #first

Narayan Ayyagari is a software consultant and is currently on an assignment working with

the Washington DC government in modernizing their administrative services. He also
founded and runs Jkinfosys, a software product and services company based in Rockville,
MD. The company has off-shore development centre at Vizag, India. Narayan graduated
with B.E in civil engineering from Andhra University, Vizag, India. He also completed his M.S
in computer science from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Apart from the software
world, Narayan is also active within the Telugu community of northern Virginia.
20 SOLAR
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

the tele.graam
A bulletin of news from "the distant village"

Making Solar Technologies Accessible to Rural India

It is claimed much of India is electrified. But when the
sun sets, the reality is that most of India is dark or
barely lit.
Power Supply in India Today…
In India the supply of electricity from the power grid is
unpredictable and often comes with fluctuating voltage.
Power is supplied as a priority to industry and the more
affluent urban areas which include a growing number of
air-conditioned malls and air conditioned bedrooms in
multi-storied flats.
Rural households, on the other hand, cannot afford elec-
tricity from the grid and even subsidized schemes do little
to provide adequate lighting when most needed. Most
homes use kerosene or vegetable oil lamps. In villages with
street lighting, the panchayats (local governments) are in
perpetual debt to the local Electricity Boards.
The Sun …an Alternate Energy Source!
It is apparent that if rural areas are to be electrified, India
must turn to alternate energy sources - other than electric-
ity from nuclear plants, coal fired or large scale hydro elec-
tric generators.
The answer is obviously the sun, the pri-
mary source of energy for the planet. Sun-
light and wind (and even biomass) are all
forms of solar energy. Then the question
that follows is: why have these alterna-
tives not reached the millions in the vil-
lages which need it? Is it limitation in the
technology, the costs, absence of commitment in public
policy or lack of enterprise? Or is it a combination of
these?
lighting for the village . It is with this goal that infraSys has
entered the solar energy market.
infraSys offers an attractive
portable solar lantern - Solar
Deepa - which uses long life
compact fluorescent lamps
(CFL). The street lights -
Graama Deepa- come in 2
models - regular and economy. These decentralized solu-
tions can liberate the users from the uncertainties of the
power grid. (See the last issue of CATALYST for a story on
rural street lighting - an infraSys project)
The Challenge
Even though the lantern is "reasonably" priced, it is still
beyond the reach of most rural households. The challenge
therefore, is how to make the technology not only afford-
able but also accessible.
The Solution
infraSys proposes a business model as a solution. About
30 to 50 village homes form a consumer market, served by
a Central Battery Charging Center, where, by rotation the
solar lanterns can be re-charged.
An affordable fee is paid by a family for the
use of the lantern on a per charge basis.
This is similar to bicycle rental where the
access to use of a bicycle is within reach of
most households- without ownership. This
"rental" arrangement would eliminate the
need for the purchase and ownership of
individual lanterns and photovoltaic panels
and in the process make solar lighting accessible.

The Most Basic Need…One Light per Home infraSys is seeking opportunities to design, supply and
The power supply system for the village hut should not be install such systems and provide training for service
designed with urban amenities in mind, but should provide and maintenance to operate as independent rural busi-
one single source of efficient, affordable and predictable nesses.

infraSys is a company that invests in small enterprises in rural India. We bring together the necessary infrastructures -
physical, know-how and financial - without which such enterprises may neither succeed nor be sustainable.
We seek collaboration in creating livelihoods and infrastructure in rural areas.
Visit www.infrasys.biz and write to the author at murthysudhakar@gmail.com
 SOLAR 21
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

To Go Solar or Not?
DR SATYANARAYANA GAVARASANA
How cheaply can electricity be made available in India? There are different natural,
alternative sources to generate cheaper power, such as the sun and bio-ffuels.
The question is which of them would be the best resource from affordability angle.

My mind tells me to go solar but my heart tells me to
leave sun alone and use biomass.
Why Go Solar?
Indians are price-conscious. We want things that are
affordable. Now that the energy from sun is free why
wouldn’t any Indian, including this author, fall for a free-
bee? A reader bestowed with intelligence and knowledge
may ask 'what is the techno-economic justification for
solar power?'
In photosynthesis, nature has achieved an energy
transfer efficiency of approximately 97% whereas the
present day commercially available solar photovoltaic
(PV) panels have efficiency of only 15%. NASA has used
solar PV panels with efficiency factor of 30% in space
exploration experiments, but they are expensive and not
available commercially.
Case study -1
"Aqua Americana" is a safe drinking water plant run on
'No-Loss-No-Profit' basis in our village Gollaprolu in the
East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh, India. 32 KWh
per day is necessary to produce 8000 liters of water. In
order to minimize the inconvenience to water users due
to power cuts, we are searching for power plants that
would supply energy to run the water plant without
interruption.
I tried to get quotations for a solar PV system to run the
safe drinking water plant, but there was no response. A
friend from InfraSys (http://www.infrasys.biz/) has
obtained a quote for us that required Rs. 1.4 million to
produce 5 KWh of solar power for use in our water plant.
To service a loan of Rs. 1.4 million at 12% interest, we
have to pay Rs. 13,800 as interest per month, whereas
we were paying about Rs.5,000 per month to the
APTRANSCO for electricity, though the supply is erratic
and untrustworthy. Now the question: Why would any
sensible Indian pay monthly Rs. 13,800 as interest (O&M
expenses not included) on a loan raised to buy solar PV
panels, instead of paying Rs.5,000 per month as electric-
ity charges? It is obvious, despite the hype about the
Solar Power and its technical feasibility, there is no eco-
nomic justification to use solar power in rural India.
Case study -2
Due to frequent power cuts (unannounced and incon-
venient), villagers in Gollaprolu formed into a Vidyut
Vineyogadaarula Sanghamu (Electricity Users Associa-
tion). One of the options that they have considered is to
establish a Hybrid Solar Power Plant (one MW capacity)
in the village. Gollaprolu village receives sunlight
throughout 210 days in a 365-day year. Taking this into
consideration, a design to produce electricity with a mix
of solar PV panels, solar thermal energy and rice husk
(bio-energy) is proposed.
According to my calculations, the capital cost to pro-
duce one KWh with solar PV panels is Rs.8, with solar
thermal energy Rs.6 and with bio-mass like rice husk
Rs.2. Add one rupee as the operation and maintenance
(O&M) expense to produce one KWh, still the final price
favours electricity produced by bio-mass (rice husk).
Andhra Pradesh TRANSCO purchases electricity at Rs.3
per KWh from the producers. If someone uses diesel gen-
erator for electricity, the cost per KWh is approximately
Rs.10.

Dr. Satyanarayana Gavarasana was born at Pithapuram on September 4, 1936.

He now lives in Floral Park, U.S.A. A postgraduate in medicine from Andhra Medical College
and a Fulbright Scholar (1966), Dr. Satyanarayana was trained in General Surgery in the US.
He practiced in Gollaprollu village of East Godavari District and conducted a number of health
camps in many villages. Lions Cancer Hospital, Visakhapatnam, is his brainchild. Dr
Gavarasana published a number of articles on cancer research. His current research project is:
screen 100,000 Andhra women for breast cancer including genetic analysis.
22 SOLAR
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Rural and Urban scenarios
Rural India needs low cost, low capacity (5 KWh)
power plants to run lathes, cut wood, pump water, run a
machine to powder the dals, rice etc. At present, this is
met by the diesel gen-sets. Urban India and large indus-
tries require mega-power plants with 1000 MW capaci-
ty or more. The Indian government is offering a subsidy
to solar power equipment purchasers. There should be
an incentive to produce cheaper solar PV panels by the
Indian manufacturers. Will the Government of India ever
come to the rescue of an Indian solar PV panel produc-
er?
Release from SEB clutches
Our task is to find a way to produce electricity that will
free our citizens from the clutches of the state electricity
boards (SEBs) and their corrupt and inefficient officials.
Like the IT revolution, we should work for Energy Tech-
nology revolution, independent of the governmental
intervention. There are bound to be ups and downs in
the cycle of a revolution, like bursting of internet bubble
in IT field.
Bio-mass for electricity
There is hype about solar energy now and how long
this hype can be sustained on false economics is beyond
anybody's guess. There are plenty of bio-fuel resources in
India that can fuel the progress in Energy Technology.
Reports of bio-mass plants producing electricity all over
India demonstrate what is possible in augmenting the
supply of electricity in energy-starved India. The Energy
Price Regulatory Commissions in various states can
increase the purchasing price of the bio-power taking
into consideration various factors that go into production
of electricity using bio-fuels like rice husk, bagasse, wood
chips, saw dust, etc.
Alternate fuels
Kris Rallapalli (Huguenin Rallapalli Foundation) suggest-
ed that one can use non-edible oils to run the diesel gen-
sets that are used at present in the villages. Ponge trees
(Pongamia Pinnata) have been planted in the villages sup-
ported by the Huguenin Rallapalli Foundation in Tamil
Nadu and these trees yield non-edible oil that can be used
as a bio-diesel. According to Murthy Sudhakar
(www.infrasys.biz), there is a niche market for solar
lights.
Wind power is a possible energy source and maps
showing wind velocities over India should be made avail-
able.
Our aim
Our aim should not be to copy the West blindly as far
as Solar PV technology goes, but concentrate on meth-
ods to produce electricity using local resources like rice
husk, bagasse, wood chips, saw dust, gobar gas, etc. The
directors of research with vision and understanding of
the Indian situation like Prof. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, former
President of India, can pursue research to produce PV
panels at a price affordable by poor rural Indian citizens.
Our aim is not to create a forum for an endless discus-
sion but to seek immediate practical answers to the prob-
lems faced by the villagers. Two case studies are given in
this article as templates to find suitable solutions. If each
village is made independent of the state electric supply
with construction of one MW Hybrid solar power plant,
then the vision of Mahatma Gandhi of Gram Swaraj will
manifest. If we can find a way to avoid green house gas
producing fossils in our daily use like using diesel oil in
diesel gen-sets, then we would not only make our vil-
lages self-sufficient in energy needs but protect the envi-
ronment from pollution. Bio-mass and bio-diesel oil will
come to our rescue. We will continue to pray Sun God to
bestow Indian engineers with knowledge that would
translate into cheaper solar PV panels.
References:
1.Photosynthesis.http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/
Publications/journal/volume12/no2/fleming.htm
2.Efficiency of Solar PV panels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell#Energy_con-
version_efficiency
3. Solar PV panels in space.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/08jan_sun-
shine.htm
4. Energy technology in India.
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gain-
files/200706/146291266.pdf
5. Energy Scene in India.
http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/library/national_e
nergy_grid/india/energy_overview_of_india.shtml
gavarasana_satya@hotmail.com
 INNOVATION 23
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Winners of Rural Innovation

Fund for 2007
Microsoft India under its sustainable and self-rreliant rural market initiative, Project Saksham,
has established in 2006 Rural Innovation Fund (RIF) in partnership with International
Development Research of Canada (IDRC) to help local software application development
vendors in smaller towns to create and provide localized applications
and solutions customized for the needs of the rural communities.

T
HE Rural Innovation Fund’s focus is on verticals like
telemedicine, education and agriculture, areas
which are of maximum interest to the rural commu-
nities. M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF)
is associated with RIF and IDRC to promote rural develop-
ment through the application of Information Technology.
In 2004, MSSRF and IDRC consolidated the concept of
Village Knowledge Centre & Village Resource Centre in
the form of creating multi-stakeholder partnership called
'Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre'. By
2005, this network had more than 200 partners and has
support from national (including government) and inter-
national agencies. In early 2007, this network/movement
was renamed and converted into a movement called
'Grameen Gyan Abhiyan (Rural Knowledge Network)'.
Out of 950 applicants with solutions focusing on
enhancing livelihood and agriculture practice, education
and literacy, rural health and telemedicine, e-commerce,
local content management applications and village-level
administration tools; and disaster preparedness and man-
agement, the folloing nine were chosen to receive a grant
of $15,000.
blends information technology innovatively, facilitating
online consultation for each patient with ophthalmolo-
gists. This approach helps patients acquire right treatment
advice directly from ophthalmologists, saving a lot of time
and money. The objective now is to develop an appropri-
ate model to increase the uptake of eyecare services at
the Vision Centres.
ARUNTEC, CHENNAI: Conceptualised by V G Ram
Kumar, Aruntec seeks to create and deliver innovative
info-tech solutions, including for the rural community.
Their proposal is e-com web portal to facilitate flow of
funds up to village level, the portal to help the villagers
solicit information from the Internet as well as facilitate
selecting/buying goods or availing of services; and create
e-identification of villagers and their activities.

ARAVIND EYE HOSPITAL, THENI, TAMIL NADU:

With a modest beginning of 11 beds in 1976, today
Aravind Eye Hospital provides the entire range of eyecare
services. Its proposal of VISION 2020 is a global initiative
that prioritises five key problems and suggests various
approaches. Based on a low-cost telemedicine approach
that reaches out to the rural population, a Vision Centre
JANASTU, BANGALORE: Core strength is developing
software and providing support for NGOs for their needs,
enabling non IT-savvy users to be pro-active. They pro-
pose to build open source school management software
that is aimed at the teachers and staff of a school, for con-
figuring it to their needs. This is a result of observing that
24 INNOVATION
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
teachers at schools get proactive if the bottleneck of
depending on their computer support departments is min-
imised.
Society for Participatory Research and Integrated
Training (SPIRIT), Tamil Nadu: SPIRIT has been imple-
menting community development activities among the hill
tribes and Dalits in 40 villages in lower Kodaikanal hills
since 1996. They now propose to introduce the fishing
sector there to information technology in the form of e-
commerce, by apprising them of benefits in areas of
catch, market trend of pricing and post-harvest technolo-
gies of fisheries.
VRITTI SOLUTIONS LIMITED, MUMBAI: Vritti works
in the focus areas of e-goverance, training and manufac-
turing ERP. Their proposal is a disaster management sys-
tem where the proposed application will act like an ERP
and knowledge management solution for disaster preven-
tion, mitigation, preparedness, rescue and rehabilitation
and relief work.
RAJIV GANDHI COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND
ANIMAL SCIENCES
(RAGACOVAS),
PUDUCHERRY:
Their proposal involves
preparation of Knowledge kit
for goat-keepers. This involves
scientific ways of goat rearing
such as young kid
management, feeding
management, breeding
management, common
diseases of goats, etc., which will explain the important
scientific practices to be adopted by the goat-keepers.
MANIPAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE,
MANIPAL: it is part of Manipal University. Their propos-
al is the creation of BMD Scan, which is a tool for Bone
Mineral Density. It provides a cost-effective method of
evaluating BMD by the use of image analysis applied on
radiographs for better results. This method could make
one of the primary healthcare procedures accessible to
the poor.
ANDHRA PRADESH DAIRY DEVELOPMENT CO-
OP FEDERATION (APDDCF), HYDERABAD:
APDDCF is an apex body at the state -level, involved in
focused development of dairy value chain. Their propos-
al is an Integrated Rural Milk Procurement (IRMP) pro-
ject which is an Internet-based application wherein milk
collection details are captured on to the server at head-
quarters straight from the village using GPRS to ensure
transparency and instant payment to the farmer through
bank.
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND
MANAGEMENT STUDIES, COCHIN: Their propos-
al is a Patient Logistics Management system for hospi-
tals which aims
at developing
software for
gathering and
storing infor-
mation on
patient logis-
tics in the area
of communi-
cable diseases
- a scientific
compiling of
patient data
for combating
the most-like-
ly-to-recur
phases during
the next season. The project, hence, tries to concentrate
on the formally listed communicable diseases prevalent
in Kerala.
(It is interesting to observe that every one of the win-
ners is a city-based NGO or institution. When 70% of
rural population is below the poverty line, government-
run schools do not have competent teachers and who
are absent often, and most government-run public
health facilities are not properly managed, what is like-
ly to be the contribution of all these high-tech winners?
This is not intended as a criticism of the RIF. It is a com-
ment to help develop strategies to improve the produc-
tivity of funds allotted. -Editor)

Rural India’s Innovations
AN INNOVATIVE IDEAS EXCHANGE
Honey Bee Network is a bridge between rich and the poor and can lead to patent
rights and license fees for their ideas
LAKSHMAN KALASAPUDI
D
O you know that sour
butter milk is better
acetic acid or formic acid
for coagulation of natural rub-
ber latex? Or that there is a
machine to make bamboo
splints that costs Rs. 69,550 less
than the one available on the
market? Perhaps not. They are
ideas of impoverished Indians
seeking to make their lives bet-
ter. However, these ideas can
easily be found on the Honey
Bee Network.
The Honey Bee Network is the brainchild of Anil K.
Gupta. This network documents the endless innovations of
rural peasants in India. While inclusive of age old methods,
many indigenous, that have eased life, the net-
work also collects recent innovations which
ameliorate the lives of economically disadvan-
taged people. There have been over 70,000
entries since its inception in 1990 and the net-
work is available in Hindi, Gujarati, and Tamil.
The main intent of this project is to create an
exchange of ideas between the poor of India to
make all their lives better. The name is reflective
of the goal of the project. Just as honey bees
collect nectar from different flowers and congregate to
make honey in one beehive, the combination of different
ideas can definitely make life much sweeter. The multi-lin-
gual aspect of this database provides for the dispersion of
ideas throughout India, thereby creating a cross pollination
of ideas.
Bridge between…
Innovators can benefit in numerous ways through Honey
Database Website: http://knownetgrin.honeybee.org/innovation_database.asp
INNOVATION 25
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Bee. This network can lead to
patent rights and license fees for
their ideas. Also, groups such as
the Ashoka Foundation can recog-
nize these otherwise non-entities
and grant them fellowships, thus
enabling them to become
entrepreneurs. As well as catering
to many of the needs of the poor,
Honey Bee is a bridge between
the rich and poor. The knowledge
found of this database can be
implemented on larger scales by
investors. Many ideas are about increasing production of
goods. One such idea is the roof tile making machine by
Sukhranjan Mistry. His machine can make roof tiles with the
operation by simply pedaling. While he isn't commercializing
the idea, others can and will. Therefore, there are two ben-
eficiaries of the concept.
The idea itself is a wonderful innovation! Anil K.
Gupta is a professor of agriculture at the Indian
Institute of Management at Ahmedabad. Gupta
also founded the Society for Research and Initia-
tives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions
(SRISTI). This is the parent organization for Honey
Bee. With his academic background in agricul-
ture, Gupta is the perfect man to initiate such an
activity. Agriculture is a field where any new inno-
vations are vital for the efficient and effective production of
crops.
Knowing the aforementioned innovations are the
thoughts and research of regular Indian workers who have
very little education, we are enlightened by the fact that
higher education, such as masters and Ph.D., is not neces-
sary to invent and innovate. Honey Bee is an excellent plat-
form for the intellect of the non-academia to shine
through.
26 INNOVATION
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

T H E VA R S H A R A I N G U N

Y EARS ago, Anna Saheb Udgave, a cane farmer of Sadalga in

Belgaum district of Karnataka, developed the Chandraprabhu
raingun. On a small scale, he manufactured the raingun and sold
it to other farmers. For this innovation, Anna Saheb received a
national award in 2000.

Soon after, the Rural Innovations Network selected the raingun

for incubation. In 2002, Rural Innovations Network held discus-
sions with Servals Automation, a Chennai-based company. Servals
saw much promise in this equipment because it gave farmers a
host of benefits in a water-scarce situation.

Following the transfer of technology from Anna Saheb to Ser-

vals Automation, the summer of 2002 saw the first lot of Servals-
manufactured rainguns coming out. Later, the Chandraprabhu
raingun was renamed as Varsha. Today, farmers are happy users
of the Varsha raingun because of the numerous benefits it deliv-
ers. Start with water. The Varsha raingun delivers high water sav-
ings, anywhere between 50 and 60 per cent.

What is more it saves time. For instance, the practice of flood irrigation would
make one wait for a week or ten days minimum for the water to drain. With the
raingun, a stretch of land could be irrigated in the morning and by 4 pm in the
afternoon, the water has drained and the soil is ready for carrying out further
operations. It takes far less time to irrigate land when compared to flood irriga-
tion. For instance, irrigating half an acre needs only two hours with the Varsha
raingun whereas flood irrigation would need a day at least.

This saving in water and time ensures that considerable amounts of energy are
saved. It relieves labourers of their time to use in other essential operations. Addi-
Saves
tionally, the raingun can be used to irrigate land that is not level. The raingun
sprays water on the leaves. This washes away the pests that sit on the leaves and
also the eggs that the pests may deposit on the leaves.
water,
There are a few disadvan-
tages in the Varsha raingun
time,
as well. It cannot be used on
tender plants because the
raingun sprays a considerable
energy
amount of water with signifi-
cant force. This would defi-
nitely damage tender plants.
Also, it cannot be used for
flowering plants because the
flowers would be
destroyed.
 INNOVATION 27
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

ReMeDi
RURAL HEALTH DIAGNOSTIC INNOVATION

I
NDIA is slowly establishing the patient and store these
itself as a center of excel- along with the rest of the
lence in medicine outsourc- patient's medical data on the
ing the way it has done in IT. computer. Despite all theseim-
India has been exporting doc- pressive features, the software
tors to different parts of the needs no special equipment to
world for many years, and now run. A standard computer will
residents from the developed do. Even more importantly,
world are choosing to go to ReMeDi offers a cheap way for
India for medical treatment. villagers to get medical atten-
Despite this, over 700 million tion. People in rural areas in
Indians today lack access to India often have to make long,
basic medical facilities because expensive trips to other towns
they live in remote villages that to get treatment. ReMeDi, on
suffer from a shortage of doc- the other hand, allows villagers
tors. Also the primary health to get in touch with a doctor
facilities set up by the govern- for as little as Rs. 25 per con-
ment have become dysfunc- sultation. Though the compa-
tional. However now thanks to ny has only begun to sell and
the unique application of IT distribute the product, it is
developed by Neurosynaptic Rajeev Kumar, Founder and CCO, (left) and Sameer Sawarkar, already showing signs of suc-
communication, a Bangalore Founder and CEO Neurosynaptic Communications cess. Other developing coun-
based company villagers may tries such as Bangladesh,
be able to get access to the best medical help. Tunisia, the Philippines, and Mexico have also ordered the
solution, and Mr. Sawarkar, the CEO wishes to install ReMe-
Neurosynaptic company has developed medical device Di on 1,500 Internet kiosks throughout India.
and software known as ReMeDi that connects rural villagers
to Indian urban doctors via the Web. ReMeDi. This is Neurosynaptic Communications Private Limited was
installed on computers in villages or nearby towns. It is selected in November, 2007 by World conomic Forum as
capable of measuring four vital signs: temperature, blood one of the Technology Pioneers. The Technology Pioneers
pressure, blood oxygenation, 2008 were nominated by the
and heartbeat. Trained opera- world's leading technology
tors located at the Internet experts, including venture capi-
kiosk in the village then send talists, technology companies,
the results to doctors in the academics and media. The final
cities. These doctors use the selection from 273 nominees
given information to make was made by a panel of leading
diagnoses and give prescrip- technology experts appointed
tions if necessary. by the World Economic Forum.
Technology Pioneers 2008 are
The ReMeDi program has invited to participate in the
other features as well. It allows World Economic Forum Annual
for real-time communication Meeting 2008 in Davos,
between the patient and the Switzerland.
doctor via video, audio, or text Village kiosk ReMeDi telemedicine center http://www.
chat. It can take pictures of in operation neurosynaptic.com/
28 INNOVATION
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Barefoot College
A WONDROUS EXPERIMENT
The Barefoot College of Tilonia, Rajasthan, India demonstrates that illiteracy is not a barrier to
poor communities developing themselves and that the most sophisticated of technologies can
be disseminated by poor rural men and women who can barely read and write.

First they ignore you, then ABOUT THE COLLEGE cal - many of the children who
they laugh at you, then they pass through night school become
fight you and then you win.
- Mahatma Gandhi T HE Barefoot College, formally known as
the Social Work Research Centre, was
established in 1972 in Tilonia, a small vil-
health workers, engineers,
accountants, and teachers and
serve their own communities.
The Barefoot College strong- lage in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan,
ly believes that it is a myth that India. The college's founder, Bunker Roy, Unlike the paper-qualified
the development of poor rural lived and worked in this village ever since. urban experts sent to help them,
communities requires people Barefoot-educated professionals
with formal degrees and quali- The college was designed by a semi-liter- focus on local decision-making
fications. The college has ate Barefoot architect and was built by a and grassroots development. As
extended its informal training team of Barefoot architects, Barefoot solar one Barefoot College staff mem-
programs to empower a grow- engineers, and Barefoot water engineers. ber explains, "It is Gandhian --
ing number of female solar The college collects rainwater from the like Mahatma Gandhi we do
power engineers, and the Bare- roofs of the campus and stores 400,000 believe power resides in the poor.
foot approach to development liters of water in an underground tank built They have dignity but do not
has spread across India and under a community stage. The open-air have opportunities. We are har-
around the world. theater can seat an audience of 5,000 for nessing human potential."
performances. The college is fully solar-
Away from Tradition electrified and powers its computers, pho- By giving the rural poor access
The Barefoot College is a rad- tocopying machines, media center, patholo- to practical knowledge, the Bare-
ical departure from the tradi- foot College demystifies technol-
gy lab, and 700 lights and fans of its admin-
tional concept of a "college." istrative offices, classrooms and living ogy and puts it in the hands of vil-
The lifestyle and workstyle is spaces with sunlight. lagers themselves.
very Gandhian. Rather than www.barefootcollege.org
reading, writing, and formal Solar power
degrees, the Barefoot College To date, Barefoot professionals
promotes the kind of education have helped bring solar electricity
one absorbs from family, community, and practical to over 200 remote villages in seven states across India,
experience. The College confers no degrees and all fulfilling such basic needs as lighting and heating. In
members, regardless of class, education, or caste, are this capacity alone, the Barefoot College has improved
considered equal. For the dropout children who cannot the quality of life of more than 80,000 people. The
afford to go to school in the day because they have to philosophies of the College have done more than bring
look after their animals in the fields, classes take place practical technological advancements; they also
at night in the villages. The education is entirely practi- empower

villagers, especially women. As one female Barefoot engi-
neer explained, her husband and in-laws were first
unhappy with her pursuit of education and grassroots
activism, but they soon came to respect her work.
"My husband will never say it, but I know he's very
proud of me. Now he asks me to maintain his accounts
for him!" Another female scholar explains, "I now look
back at my childhood when I always dreamed of doing
something big for my society. My mother used to laugh
at me. Today my family, my neighbors, and even the vil-
lage elders respect me and value my contribution. It feels
wonderful."
Developing Countries follow
The Barefoot approach to the solar-electrification of
rural communities has been adopted by the Asian Devel-
opment Bank in Afghanistan and in 2007 it was being
adopted in 25 villages in Bhutan. Similar initiatives arede-
veloping in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Mali, Bolivia,
Cameroon, Tanzania, Senegal, Mauritania, Malawi,
Kenya and Ethiopia. Both the UNDP and Skoll Foundation
have provided funds for training 34 Barefoot solar and
water engineers from Ethiopia. In six months during
2006, 19 inaccessible villages in Ethiopia were solar elec-
trified by Barefoot solar engineers trained by the Barefoot
College in Tilonia.
Skoll Foundation has provided financial support to
replicate the Barefoot approach in solar electrification and
rooftop rainwater harvesting for drinking water and san-
itation in Afghhanistan, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Senegal,
Cameroon and Bolivia. The Barefoot College's $1 million
Alcan Prize for Sustainability will be used to replicate the
Barefoot model in even more villages in these countries.
Creativity matters
Says Barefoot College founder, Bunker Roy: "It is the
only college in India built by the poor for the poor and for
the last 34 years was managed and controlled and owned
by the poor following the lifestyle and workstyle of
Gandhi. It is based on very simple living, eating, living,
and working on the floor where people come for the
challenge rather than the money. No one in the college
can earn more than $100 a month. It's the only college
where paper degrees, diplomas and doctorates are a dis-
qualification because the worth of the person is judged
by his or her honesty, integrity, compassion, practical
skills, creativity and their ability to work with people with-
out discrimination."
(Suggested by Ms Sai Padma Bellana)
INNOVATION 29
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
LIVING AND
WORKING BAREFOOT
S EVENTYTWO-YEAR-OLD Sunjit
Bunker Roy, born in a Bengali fami-
ly and educated in the most "happen-
ing" schools like Doon and St.Stephens,
has had the "most expensive, snobbish
education any Indian could have had
the misfortune to have." He was
deeply moved by the Bihar famine and
the suffering of the people there in
1960s. His anguish and commitment Bunker Roy
to improve the quality of life material- The Founder
ized in the form of "Barefoot College" in 1972. Thus began
the journey of three times national Squash champion Bunker
Roy to come up with the barefoot concept in respect of peo-
ple living in extreme poverty and to establish a college for
them by them. Living and working in villages 35 years back
became the philosophy and tool for the success of "barefoot"
concept.
Bunker's belief in and respect for rural professionalism
grew leaps and bounds since then and has led to not only
sustainable development but also building the essential pre-
requisites for sustainable development. His work represents
a ray of hope for rural India and the transparency in his
functioning addresses every one's concern about credibility
of NGO sector.
Married to Aruna Roy, recipient of Raman Magsaysay
award for her work as a community leader, who quit a
secure IAS job to join the Barefoot College and now work-
ing towards social empowerment of rural Rajasthan, Bunker
says "Aruna is my hero." Aruna, through her activism, is
bringing about a social change by addressing rural problems
as she believes that only solving economic problems will not
lead to overal and sustainable rural development. Along
with her team of activists from "Majdoor Kisan Shakti Sang-
hatan," Aruna was instrumental in the enactment of Right To
Information act in Rajasthan and 10 other states.
Bunker's work and life became inspirational to many
young and old professionals globally. As he rightly believes
"strengthen the rural areas and you will find less people
migrating to urban areas. You give them opportunity, self
respect and self confidence, they will never go to urban
slums." bunker_roy@yahoo.com
32 DEVELOPMENT
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Building Technologies to Help Poor

MIT NURTURED DOZENS OF NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Lately Massachsetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has turned its attention toward concrete
thinking to improve the lives of the world’s bottom billion, those who live
on a dollar a day or less and who often die young.
ANKIT GUPTA

T
HE Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known for
the excellent education it provides in such brainy top-
ics as neuroscience and astrophysics, recently offered
a program that could help improve the lives of the world's
impoverished population. The institute hosted the Interna-
tional Developmental Design Summit, a workshop devot-
ed to building technologies to help the poor. The partici-
pants consisted of students, professors, and professionals
from around the world. They discussed
solutions to the basic problems faced by
those who live on less than a dollar a
day.
The event was organized by Amy
Smith, a lecturer at M.I.T., with the help
of volunteers from California Technolo-
gy University and Harvard University.
Today, over 90% of the money spent on
research and development is used to
build products for the world's wealthiest
10%. The movement to change this and
create a focus on those who live in poverty is the "design
revolution." Ms Smith hoped that the summit would aid
this "revolution".
The summit began with discussions about the general
problems faced by the world's poorest, such as a lack of
water, electricity, and public health. The participants split
into project teams, each of which focused on creating a
solution to a particular problem. The actual building of pro-
totypes took place in M.I.T.'s D-Lab, a center dedicated to
designing technologies for third world countries. The sup-
plies were bought using donations (over $200,000 in total)
from individuals and small groups. The challenge was to
make products that are cheap and simple enough to be
used in rural areas. They also needed to be made from
materials that would be available wherever the product is
to be used. In addition, they needed to fit into the lifestyles
of those who would use them. These limitations were
formidable and the work was hectic and stressful. Howev-
er, the students succeeded in coming up with promising
ideas and prototypes.
For example, Mohamed Mashaal, a British
engineer, and Bernard Kiwia, a Tanzanian
teacher, developed a backpack designed to
store water, which would make it easier for
women in rural Tanzania to carry water over
long distances as they do on a daily basis.
Two other students, Zambian engineer Sham
Tembo and M.I.T. student Jessica Vechakul-
made a contraption that used cow manure
and charcoal to make electricity.
Why is India, where the need for low technologies to
solve the poverty problem is acute, failing to hold this type
of seminars, workshops and think tanks on a larger scale?
Why is India's NGO movement not taking interest to put
pressure on the leading educational institutions universities
to divert their energies towards developing such low tech-
nologies to meet high aims?
IITs do research to promote IT, while we need low tech
solutions for the daily needs of the poor in India.
ankitgupta@comcast.net

Ankit Gupta is currently a junior at Acton Boxborough Regional High School in Acton,
Massachusetts. He is an active participant in many extracurricular activities like the school
speech and debate team and school band. He also volunteers his time in a number of
ways: he is an assistant coach at the junior high speech and debate team and is a tutor for
high school students who face difficulties in studies. He is also involved in his school's
recycling club. Deeply interested in journalism and philanthropy, he believes Catalyst
represents a unique opportunity to blend the two together.
A R E N A Animation - Kukatpally offers Special Discount for Members of
Global Angels Jai Charitable Trust to promote Animation among Rural Youth
This issue’s cover page is prepared by ARENA, Kukatpally team * Conditions Apply
34 DEVELOPMENT
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

A Lively Discussion on
Sustainable Development
On October 6 and 7, 2007 India Development Service (IDS), India Development
Coalition of America (IDCA), and Loyola University, Chicago conducted an
international conference on the theme of Sustainable Development and
Gandhian Thought at the Loyola University campus in Maywood, Illinois, USA

T
HE international conference on 'Sustainable
Development and Gandhian Thought,' held at
the Loyola University campus in Maywood,
Illinois recently turned out to be a lively forum for
those who are working on projects concerned with
water and sanitation, education, rural development,
solar energy, ecological restoration, AIDS awareness,
problems of the disabled and networking exchange of ideas
and renewing their commitment to the speeding up of the pro-
cess of sustainable development in India.
Action plan was developed for the different non-profit
organisations in the United States of America to work togeth-
er with Indian NGOs and government institutions in
the implementation of programs in rural India. The
conference took note of the fact that India has two
images - the modern urban India and "Bharat," the
backward rural India. Urban India's economy
boomed with the largest number of billionaires of
Asia belonging to it, even as the largest number of
poor lived in Bharat.
The event provided various models and examples to those
who believe in traversing such divides to help the less fortunate
help themselves and get the NRIs with compassion living in
developed nations (ex: NRIs in the US) to extend help and sup-
port to communities back home in overcoming their problems
there. NRIs in the US could become conduits of knowledge,
resources and networks in this mission.
The objective of the conference was to bring
together experts in the field of sustainable devel-
opment, and grassroot activists who are imple-
menting developmental projects in India. The
occasion also assumed significance for drawing
speakers from across the globe. Most of them are
NRIs. Mr. Sam Pitroda, NKC, India, Prof. Satish
Kumar, Great Britain, Mr. Bunker Roy, Rajasthan, India,
Manoj Dabas of Ashoka Trust, India, Mr. Balbir Mathur,
Kansas, Prof. Madhusri Prakash of Penn State University,
Mr. Pragnanand Busi and Ms Saipadma Bellana, Andhra
Pradesh, India, apart from Mr. A.K. Attri, India's Consul
General at Chicago, were among them.
While Bunker Roy described India as a nation
of "islands of excellence in the seas of igno-
rance," Prof. Satish Kumar said the "Satvic way of
development is the only way for India to sustain
itself rather than taking the path of super-con-
sumerism. A physically challenged young
woman, Ms Saipadma pointed out that even the
disabled can deliver services to rural poor. The India Devel-
opment Coalition of America (IDCA), one of the sponsors
of the international conference (the others were India
Development Service (IDS) and Loyla University, Chicago)
presented its initiatives in helping India's rural poor.
nilvora@pol.net
raj2468@comcast.net

VIDYASAGAR RAJ RAJARAM NILA VORA

 DEVELOPMENT 35
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Eradication of Corruption
Accelerates Development
KRIS DEV
Corruption is the cancer eating into the vitals of Indian society and not allowing
the underdeveloped and developing nations to become developed nations.

I
NDIA is doing well Card and the trans-
on many fronts, actions must be
except in tackling made transparent on
corruption, which in the web.
turn is affecting many
development projects, Suitable 'e-Admin-
impacting the grass- istration' communica-
root development in tion and a trans-
particular, and not parency tool should
allowing the marginal- be available for
ized to be benefited. tracking all commu-
The rich are growing nications and compli-
richer at the expense ance online by
of the poor. What we need is a One-Stop solution to anyone anywhere.
the evil of corruption. The solution should instantly
change the face of our society and reverse it from Minimizes Corruption
downward trends to an upward growth. This would minimize corruption to the point of
eliminating it to create a level playing field, alleviate
Biometric Smart Card poverty and help achieve UN Millennium Develop-
One ideal solution would be to register every citi- ment Goals. Total transparency and accountability
zen uniquely using their biometrics (fingerprints of needs to be made a way of life. Every transaction
all fingers / palm vein) and issue Multipurpose Bio- must be made public and open to public scrutiny.
metric Smart Card-cum-Debit Card, linked to a bank This would deter us from doing any thing on the
account. Every transaction of every individual and sly.
organization must be through the Biometric Smart krisdev@gmail.com

Kris Dev (GopalaKrishnan Devanathan) is a Management & ICT Consultant and social
activist, specializing in decentralization and good governance. At 52, he has a quarter cen-
tury of hands-on experience in Asia and the Americas.
He is a co-founder of the International Transparency and Accountability Network (TrAc-
Net), a global, not-for-profit consortium of Social Activists, for 'Better Self-Administration',
through Community Centric Sustainable Development and Life Line to Business (LL2B), an
ICT organization, specializing in e-Governance. Developed and implemented "e-Adminis-
tration,“ a web-enabled neutral, paper-less e-Office communication and collaboration tool, using open
source tools to transform organizations. He is a recipient of the prestigious "Manthan Award 2006" for pio-
neering work in "e-Inclusion and Livelihood" for good governance in rural India.
36 DEVELOPMENT
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Institute of Rural Research and Development

FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY
POOJA O. MURADA
The use of solar-ppassive methods such as natural cross ventilation or skillful natural
day-llighting can significantly bring down the costs as well as the energy needs of the building.

I
NDIA is witnessing an unprecedented urban growth, building. Good architectural design used in IRRAD reduce
leading to a large scale increase in infrastructure develop- the need to cool or light up the building. In IRRAD light, air
ment and commercial and residential constructions. This, and water have been harvested by using various design
in turn, has resulted in a steep rise in demand for energy to strategies.
sustain the modern lifestyle, placing tremendous strain on
existing resources. It's worth mentioning that the annual The objective
increase of electricity consumption in Gurgaon, Haryana is The objective behind creating such a building is to prove that
about 20% highest in the country. An eco-friendly building it does not take much to make the buildings sustainable.
inflicts minimal footprint IRRAD will lead by
on the environment. example, putting the
latest knowledge and
Integrated approach technology into use. It is
Typically, environment- a 'smart' facility combin-
friendly architecture tries ing simplicity of design
to optimize the perfor- with environment-
mance of a building and friendly technologies.
preserve and protect
important resources like Design Based
water, land, and energy. Features
This is accomplished Insulated building with
through an integrated thermally heavy and
approach to architecture, reflective roof finish to
blending design issues,
reduce the heat trans-
energy-efficient materials,
mission; re-use of exca-
construction techniques,
vated soil for making
effective building systems
and taking advantage of brick insitutions; runoff
renewable energy supplies. The Institute of Rural Research water collection for reuse and ground water recharge mak-
and Development (IRRAD) has set an example by meeting ing zero runoff; roof water harvesting used for fulfilling the
these criteria. requirement of water for the air-conditioning system; an
internal courtyard for maximizing the natural light and ven-
tilation in all spaces reduces the need of HVAC and light-
Design is one of the simplest ways to create an eco-friendly ing; and water saving sanitary fittings.

Pooja O. Murada, a creative mind, studied mass communications as well as management. After
completing her studies, she joined the corporate sector and worked for diverse audience in the
industries like the Information Technology, Advertising and HealthCare.
It was her longing to use her skills and experience for the upliftment of the marginalized society.
She left Hewlett Packard as a Marketing Communications Specialist to work full time to
communicate social causes instead of brands. She is heading the Communications department
at the Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD) run by the Sehgal Foundation. She
is the editor of 'Vikas Patrika', the quarterly newsletter of the Sehgal Foundation.

Integrated technological and
conceptual systems
35 KWP of electricity generated by photovoltaic panels on
the roof suffices the basic essential loads like lights, fans and
computers; solar water heating systems reduces the overall
energy consumption, grey and black water recycling - for
irrigation and flushing; high efficiency airconditioning equip-
ments; and IRRAD's construction project will be complete by
March 2008.
Vision & Mission
IRRAD is a premier 'Knowledge Institution' on issues relat-
ed to rural development and poverty reduction. IRRAD has
been established with a mission to promote integrated disci-
plines such as rural research, programs & training, advocacy
and field activities.
IRRAD- Modus Operandi
To spread our learnings accumulated under the Sehgal
Foundation's ISVD model and scale up operations, the
Sehgal Foundation gets Best Water NGO Award
S
.M.Sehgal Foundation has been presented with the
Best Water NGO for Water Harvesting Award at an
awards function at New Delhi on November 29.
The award has been instituted by the Water Digest, a
global magazine for Water Solutions, in association with
UNESCO.
Initiated last year, Water Digest
identified the need to recognize
NGOs doing exceptional work in
the water sector and therefore,
these awards acknowledged
organizations for their exemplary
work in judicious and effective
use of water resources in urban
and rural areas.
Mr. Rajat Jay Sehgal, Executive
Director of Sehgal Foundation,
received the award on behalf of
the foundation from eminent dignitaries like the Govern-
ment of India Minister of State for Water Resources, Jai
Prakash Narayan, Minja Yang, Director, UNESCO, David
Gray, World Bank's Senior Water Advisor and Baljeet
Singh Ahuja, member, Central Water Commission.
The Water Management program is an important com-
DEVELOPMENT 37
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Foundation has taken another initiative by establishing
the Institute of Rural Research and Development
(IRRAD). Taking advantage of the inherent synergy
between learning, training, and outreach, IRRAD will
have three centers: one for rural research in collabora-
tion with universities and colleges, one for the training
of Village Champions in rural development and a third
for rural policy, governance studies and advice to pol-
icymakers.
The Sehgal Foundation has pioneered a new path of
integrated, sustainable rural development. We would
continue with this belief and commitment in the long
run, in partnership with the village poor, combining
local perspective and leadership with scientific insight
and innovation. We will learn as we grow into a wide-
ly-recognized, respected, responsible and responsive
organization. Six hundred million village poor across
India need and deserve this kind of commitment and
capability.
poojamurada@smsfoundation.org
ponent under the Integrated Sustainable Village Devel-
opment (ISVD) model of the Sehgal Foundation along
with other programs on health, agriculture, life skills edu-
cation and alternate energy. The foundation works in
Mewat and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana where both
the availability and quality of water are of primary con-
cern. The award for Water Harvest-
ing recognizes the foundation's
efforts in making potable water
available in the rain scarce area of
Mewat, where the water table is
depleting rapidly due to over-
exploitation of the limited water
resources.
Besides various interventions in
the area of water harvesting, the
Sehgal Foundation has also done
successful projects in creating the
sweet water pockets in the under-
ground saline water areas, building check dams to
increase the ground water table, community education
programs on water conservation, especially for farmers
on best agricultural practices like chiseling, drip irrigation,
raised-bed farming etc, and to provide safe drinking
water through various filtration processes like bio-sand
filters.
38 DEVELOPMENT
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
India’s Millions Denied Access to Modern Energy
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF INDIA'S SCIENTISTS?
"O
UR day starts before five in the morning as
we need to collect water, prepare breakfast
for the family and get our children ready
for school. At around eight, we start collecting wood.
The journey is several kilometres long. When we can-
not get wood we use animal dung for cooking-but it
is bad for the eyes and for the children."
This is a familiar story for millions in India. In most
of urban India, access to electricity is taken for grant-
ed. At the flick of a switch the lights come on, water
is heated and food is cooked. Employment and pros-
perity are supported by the energy systems that sus-
tain modern industry, drive com-
puters and power transport net-
works for the rich.
For the poor in India, access
to energy has a very different
meaning. Collecting wood for
fuel is an arduous and time con-
suming activity. It takes 2-3
hours a day. When they are
unable to collect wood, they
have no choice but to use ani-
mal dung for cooking-a serious
health hazard.
In developing countries there
are some 2.5 billion people who
are forced to rely on biomass-
fuelwood, charcoal and animal
dung-to meet their energy
needs for cooking. In sub-Saharan Africa, over 80
percent of the population depends on traditional
biomass for cooking, as do over half of the popula-
tions of India and China.
Unequal access to modern energy is closely correlat-
ed with wider inequalities in opportunities for human
development. Countries with low levels of access to
modern energy systems figure prominently in the low
human development group. Within countries, inequal-
ities in access to modern energy services between rich
and poor and urban and rural areas interact with
wider inequalities in opportunity.
Poor people and poor countries pay a high price
for deficits in modern energy provision:
Health
Indoor air pollution resulting from the use of solid
fuels is a major killer. It claims the lives of 1.5 million
people each year, more than half of them below the
age of five: that is 4000 deaths a day. To put this
number in context, it exceeds total deaths from malar-
ia and rivals the number of deaths from tuberculosis.
Most of the victims are women, children and the rural
poor. Indoor air pollution is also one of the main caus-
es of lower respiratory tract infections and pneumonia
in children.
In India, where three in every four
households in rural areas depend on
firewood and dung for cooking and
heat, pollution from unprocessed bio-
fuels accounts for some 17% of child
deaths. Electrification is often associ-
ated with wider advances in health
status.
Gender
Women and young girls have to allo-
cate large amounts of time to the col-
lection of firewood, compounding
gender inequalities in livelihood
opportunities and education. Collect-
ing fuelwood and animal dung is a
time-consuming and exhausting task,
with average loads often in excess of
20kg. In rural India, average collection times can
amount to over 3 hours a day. Beyond the immedi-
ate burden on time and body, fuelwood collection
often results in young girls being kept out of school.
Economic Costs
Poor households often spend a large share of their
income on fuelwood or charcoal. Collection time for
fuelwood has significant opportunity costs, limiting
opportunities for women to engage in income gen-
erating activities. More broadly, inadequate access
to modern energy services restricts productivity and
helps keep people poor.
 DEVELOPMENT 39
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Environment Expanded access to affordable electricity for the poor

Deficits in access to modern energy can create a
vicious circle of environmental, economic and social
reversal. Unsustainable production of charcoal in
response to rising urban demand has placed a huge
strain on areas surrounding major cities. In some
cases, charcoal production and wood collection has
contributed to local deforestation. As resources
shrink, dung and residues are diverted to fuel use
instead of being ploughed back into fields, under-
mining soil productivity.
remains an overarching development priority in
India. Will the number of people relying on biomass
will increase or decrease over the next decade and
beyond, in India? All this depends on the progress
towards several MDGs, including those relating to
child and maternal survival, education, poverty
reduction and environmental sustainability. This in
turn depends upon the contribution of India's scien-
tists.
(Based on Human Development Report, 2007)

Source of
Household
Energy
Cosumption
Integrated
Energy
Policy,
2006

INDIAN SCIENCE:
Time to be Innovative
"T HERE has been significant progress in the field of atomic energy,
including a movement towards achieving a fast breeder reactor.
There are many hurdles and challenges in front but also a hope that we
might get there within the next decade. While the technical achievement
in the area of atomic energy has been of a very high order, the total
amount of power delivered to the country has not been very significant."
Prof. Yash Pal
An eminent scienist, educationist, science commuicator,
and social thinker

Chancellor, Jawarlal Nehru University, Delhi.

40 TECHNOLOGY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Making ICT work for the Common Man

CHALLENGE IN CONCEPTUALIZING E-GOVERNANCE PROJECTS
CHANDRASEKHAR
The task at hand is mammoth by any standard -- one that requires us to marry the hard
information technology skills with softer skills requiring appreciation of
simple human needs and concerns.

O
VER the last decade, India has emerged as a major
exporter of services in the Information Technology
(IT) Sector. The domestic market for the IT indus-
try has been growing as well. Recent studies with respect
to domestic growth in the IT industry show the govern-
ment as one of the major users of technology and a desti-
nation for IT investments in the coming years. Behind the
trend is a story, the main theme of the government's
increasing emphasis on leveraging information technology
in the area of public service delivery and human develop-
ment.
Those familiar with the government's functioning in this
country will know that the sector has been an early
adopter of Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) even before the advent of the ubiquitous PC. Early
usage of ICT was based more on carrying out number
crunching and fulfilling the reporting needs of government
back offices. However, recent advances in telecom, PC
penetration and the growing use of Internet have opened
up new vistas for ICT-led transformation in the public
domain. A concrete shape was given to this new approach
by the government in May, 2006 when the Indian Cabinet
approved the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). This
programme adopted the vision of making "all government
services accessible to the common man in his locality,
through common service delivery outlets and ensures effi-
ciency, transparency and reliability of such services at
affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common
man."
A key component of the NeGP is the Common Services
Centers (CSC) scheme, implemented by the Department of
Information technology. The scheme envisages creation of
a network of over 100,000 access points termed CSCs
throughout the country which will function as outlets for
Government and private services. A typical Common Ser-
vices Center (one for every six villages) would be an ICT-
enabled kiosk with a PC along with basic support equip-
ment like printer, scanner and UPS, with Wireless Connec-
tivity as the backbone and additional equipment for edu-
cation, telemedicine etc.
The CSCs are proposed to be undertaken through
three important components: i) A Public Private Partner-
ship (PPP) Framework; ii) Rural Entrepreneurship & Mar-
ket mechanisms; and iii) Government policy and support.
Under a PPP framework, the CSC Scheme would focus
on building a network of rural entrepreneurs at the local
level to run village-level kiosks delivering G2C and B2C
services. The aim is to ensure local participation of young
talent at village level that would also promote community
involvement in the CSC Scheme. The intensity of national
goals fuelled by local entrepreneurial vigour can act as a
powerful catalyst to empower rural India. By enabling
selection and training of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs)
in rural areas, the CSCs would effectively play the role of
'Change Agents', in addition to offering e-government and
private sector services.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the total cost involved
in transforming public service delivery through the pro-
gramme would be around Rs 22,000 crore. The real
challenge lies in conceptualizing and formulating hundreds
of individual e-governance projects in a manner that
addresses the pressing needs and concerns of the common
man.

Mr. Chandrashekhar is an additional secretary (e-Governance) in the Department of

Information Technology under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology,
Government of India. He established the first department of information technology in the
country when he was the secretary of the department in Government of Andhra Pradesh. He
conceptualized various initiatives such as creation of requisite infrastructure (Hi-Tech city etc.),
strategic human resource development initiative (Indian Institute of Information Technology).

Swaminathan Leads a New Movement
INTERNET TECHNOLOGY TO VILLAGES
M. S. Swaminathan, the creator of new varieties of high-yyielding wheat in India during the
1960s and 70s, catapulting the country to food independence, is now the driving force
behind a different revolution - a national movement to bring internet and
telecommunications to India's 600,000 rural villages.
S
WAMINATHAN'S movement is born out
of his belief that Information and Com-
munication Technologies (ICTs), if
properly implemented, will help bridge
India's growing urban-rural divide and forge
better links between researchers and rural
poor people. The percentage of gross
domestic product the government spends on
rural infrastructure has been steadily declin-
ing since the late 1980s. According to the
World Bank, improving the accessibility and
quality of education, health care and basic
infrastructure such as water, electricity, sani-
tation and roads are among India's biggest challenges.
How will ICT help? Agricultural Extension workers, who
are supposed to interact with the farmer every day, and
the government employees whose job it is to provide
rural health care, education and basic municipal services
such as sanitation lack motivation. The hope is that ICT
will provide "a fresh approach" to agricultural extension,
putting the information directly in the farmer's hands.
Mixed success
India's past experience with rural ICT schemes has
been rife with disappointments. Ashok Jhunjhunwala,
head of the Telecom and Networks Group (TeNeT) at the
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chennai, says that
the dozens of ICT projects across the country are a series
of ongoing experiments, "some of which have worked,"
he says, but "most of which haven't."
Jhunjhunwala says that the experience is not unusual.
Indeed, a 2006 study by the United Nations Develop-
ment Programme (UNDP) of 18 ICT projects in India -
representing some 6,500 ICT kiosks across 10 states -
found that many faltered because they didn't address
rural needs. The study found that several of the projects
failed to "understand the importance of cultivating close
relationships with their beneficiary community."
TECHNOLOGY 41
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
This is the challenge that Swaminathan
has taken on. In the late-1990s, his non-
profit institute set up some of the first tele-
com kiosks in his home state of Tamil Nadu,
with the goal of linking farmers and fisher-
men to the basic information they need.
After a rocky start, which saw the first four
centres close, the M. S. Swaminathan
Research Foundation (MSSRF) network has
now grown to a total of 80 kiosks across
three states.
In 2004, Swaminathan rallied the ICT
troops, creating what he calls a National Alliance, a
coalition of more than 400 organizations, including state
governments and various business, academic and non-
governmental organizations, with the collective aim of
providing ICT access to every villager in India. National-
ly, there are now more than 20,000 ICT kiosks operating
in nearly all of India's 28 states, run by several dozen ICT
providers, and that number is set to double by December
next year.
The alliance has been enormously successful in getting
government support for ICT infrastructure. In addition to
the US$420 million that central and state governments
are pledging towards the physical infrastructure for
100,000 telecom kiosks by 2008, roughly $850 million is
also being invested to bring broadband connectivity to
administrative groups of villages. They have also
approved close to $565 million for the creation of state
data centres as hubs for government services. It is an
ambitious project considering that 80,000 villages are
still without electricity and 65,000 villages have no tele-
phone line.
People power
Swaminathan says that although he is encouraged by
the government's commitment to rural ICTs, he is con-
cerned that the plan is overly focused on providing
42 TECHNOLOGY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

equipment and physical infrastructure. As part of their
more people-centred approach, the MSSRF established
the National Virtual Academy (NVA) in 2003, as a dis-
tance-learning program for training villagers to become
advocates for the ICT needs of their community. Over
the past 4 years, the NVA has recruited more than 1,000
such villagers - 'NVA fellows' - each nominated by their
peers and each with a track record of community service.
The hub of the matter
The MSSRF Puducherry Village Resource Centre
serves as a coordinating hub for eight village kiosks,
including the one in Embalam, relaying the needs of
villagers to various experts and government institu-
tions.
Government funding for the telecom centres runs
out in 4 years, so to continue operating, the kiosks
must secure private investment to ensure that each
kiosk will be a self-sustaining public-private outlet.
Jhunjhunwala doubts that the government will achieve
the national goal of building 100,000 telecom kiosks
across the country by 2008 (each to serve 6 villages),
let alone achieving sustainability by 2010. So far, the
government has attracted the interest of several large
companies, including the Mumbai-based telecoms
giant Reliance Communications, each of which has
placed bids for government funds to operate several
thousand kiosks.
Jhunjhunwala is skeptical that these companies will be
able to be successful eventhough there are businesses
running profitable rural ICT centres. The Imperial Tobac-
co Company of India, one of the country's largest pri-
vate corporations, selling products from cigarettes and
clothing to fertilizers and pesticides, has established
6,500 kiosks to serve 38,500 villages in nine states.
The company built its first Internet kiosks in 2000 to
buy grain directly from farmers. The kiosks provide
farmers with market prices so they can decide when
best to sell their harvest, and they sell directly to the
company for an immediate cash payment. Imperial
Tobacco says its system has reduced its procurement
costs by 25-30% and claims to put more money in
farmers' pockets.
Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai, India's largest
computer software exporter, is developing mobile-
phone software for farmers. India boasts the fastest-
growing mobile-phone market in the world. One-fifth
of its 218 million mobile-phone users live in rural areas
and the country's service providers are rapidly expand-
ing wireless coverage to villages.
Source: nature. Thanks to the author Daemon Fairless.
He is a freelance journalist who lives in Toronto. This
story was originally published in the science journal
nature, where Daemon held the 2007 IDRC- nature
Fellowship, reporting on environment, science and
development from India. Daemon currently works for
CBC Radio, as a producer for the weekly science radio
show, Quirks & Quarks. He has produced a number of
feature-length radio documentaries as well as hosted the
TV-documentary series, Body of Knowledge, which aired
on Discovery Health.

LOW C ASH-STRAPPED schools in India can buy a simple, bamboo

microscope that will introduce their students to an absolutely
essential, but typically expensive scientific tool. The device, which

COST uses a 20x lens, was conceived by a non-profit organisation

called Jodo Gyan. Members of the group, which is a low-bud-
get affair, carve the microscopes themselves. They've put
MICROSCOPES together about 2,500 so far and sell them for what they cost to
make.

BRING Now, if the One Laptop Per Child effort has any success
in India, these resource-deprived kids could have a real

SCIENCE chance at a decent education. Who knows, a bamboo micro-

scope and an Internet-enabled notebook might even
turn up another Ramanujan!
TO THE POOR jodogyandel@yahoo.com
http://www.jodogyan.org
 TECHNOLOGY 43
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

ISRO in Human Development

Y HARSHAVARDHANA RAO & LAHARY RAVURI
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is one of India's leading organizations playing a
significant role in the contribution of science to rapid development of India. India's NGO
movement can play a critical role in fulfilling ISRO's objective.

T
HERE are many areas of human development, par-
ticularly in the rural sector, where NGOs can join
hands with ISRO in a big way in the application of
advanced technologies emerging out of Research and
Development in Sciences and Technology. For example,
the INSAT program for telemedicine, tele-education,
telecommunications; remote sensing program for appli-
cations in agriculture, disaster monitoring and manage-
ment, natural resources monitoring etc. have been
among the major thrust areas of ISRO which help realize
the objective of reaching the benefits to rural population.
Village Resource Centres (VRCs)
Over the last three decades, satellite based communica-
tion and remote sensing technologies have demonstrated
their capabilities to provide services related to education,
healthcare, weather, land and water resources manage-
ment, mitigation of impact of natural disasters, etc. To
enable these space-based services reach directly to the
rural population,the establishment of Village Resource
Centres (VRC) was launched in 2004 in association with
NGOs/Trusts and governmental agencies.
VRCs provide a variety of space-based products and ser-
vices such as tele-education, telemedicine, information on
natural resources, interactive advisories on agriculture, fish-
eries, land and water resources management, livestock man-
agement, interactive vocational training towards livelihood
support, etc. The Department of Space (DOS) primarily pro-
vides satellite connectivity and bandwidth, telemedicine and
tele-education facilities and customized spatial information
on natural resources, along with indigenously developed
query tools. The associating agencies provide the facilities for
housing, managing and operating VRCs and generating the
rest of the contents.
So far 200 VRCs have been set up in Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand
and Bihar. Another 100 VRCs are being set up in other
states. Around 40 NGOs/trusts, governmental agenices are
44 TECHNOLOGY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
associated in the VRC program. VRCs, so far, have provid-
ed various services and advisories to the local people in the
areas of agriculture, adult and computer literacy, alternate
livelihood related vocational training, marketing of agro-
products, micro-finance/enterprises, livestock manage-
ment, healthcare, etc.
EDUSAT Program
EDUSAT is specially configured to relay through audio-
visual medium, employing a multi-media multi-centric sys-
tem, an interactive classrooms.
EDUSAT is providing a wide range of educational deliv-
ery modes like one-way TV broadcast, interactive TV,
video conferencing, computer conferencing, web-based
instructions, etc. Regular utilisation of EDUSAT for
Visveswaraya Technological University and Rajeev Gandhi
Technical University and Y B Chavan Open University pilot
networks is continuing.
The Rajasthan EDUSAT network and the Jammu hub are
operational. Installation and commissioning, among oth-
ers, 135 terminals of Indira Gandhi National Open Univer-
sity (IGNOU), 101 terminals of All India Council for Tech-
nical Education (AICTE), 22 terminals of Vigyan Prasar
(DST), and 83 of IDSP in National Beam have been com-
pleted. Nearly a thousand Receive Only Terminals (ROTs)
are installed and commissioned at various schools of Sidhi
district of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhat-
tishgarh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. The regu-
lar transmission of four hours teaching is conducted.
regional networks for J&K, Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala,
Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Gujarat have become opera-
tional.
GRAMSAT Program
Training and Development Communication Channel
(TDCC) activities are now being continued as GRAMSAT
Program (GP) for the states. The state governments of
Gujarat, MP, Karnataka and Orissa and universities such as
Anna University, Goa University etc. are regular users. The
network was used by different agencies for training about
6.6 lakh participants. The present average TDCC utilisation
is about 25-30 days a month with 100-110 Interactive
Training Programs (ITPs) with more than six uplinks on air
simultaneously. ITPs are conducted mainly in the fields of
education, panchayath-raj, engineering, health, water,
women and children, medical, transport, industry, forestry
and fisheries. The utilisation of the channel over the last
three years has indicated a significant growth in terms of
ITPs conducted per month, duration of usage, and number
of users, etc.
The Gramsat Program involves establishing SATCOM
networks to provide state-based connectivity for the rural
specific needs. Networks are upgraded and converged to

cater multiple services like tele-education, telemedicine,
VRCs etc. The Andaman and Nicobar network was
upgraded to counter the degradation due to tertiary cov-
erage of the space segment in the region. The network
continued to be used for e-governance and computer edu-
cation in the region. Besides being used for computer edu-
cation, a ship ticket booking software has been added by
A&N administration of existing network.
The establishment of the Rajasthan network, funded by
Government of Rajasthan, has been established at Jaipur.
Teaching end installation is in progress. In West Bengal, a
full-fledged network for panchayat training is being set up.
In Orissa, the TDCC network continues to be operational.
The e-governance component up to block level continues
to support panchayat e-governance services like panchay-
at financial transaction, land record, e-mail etc.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is an important initiative of DOS to use
Y Harshavardhana Rao, had a
distinguished career in Indian Space
Research Organisation from 1972 to
2007 as an Electronics and
Communications Engineer. He retired
from service as General Manager,
Range Instrumentation Systems,
Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR,
Sriharikota. He has contributed immensely to establishing
and operationalizing various instrumentation systems to
meet the ground support requirements for the launch of
Sounding Rockets and Satellite Launch Vehicles.
TECHNOLOGY 45
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
space technology for societal benefits. While DOS pro-
vides the telemedicine systems - software, hardware and
communication equipments as well as satellite bandwidth
- the state governments and the specialty hospitals have to
allocate funds for their part of infrastructure, manpower
and maintenance. Technology development, standards
and cost effective systems have been evolved in associa-
tion with various state governments, NGOs, specialty hos-
pitals and industry. DOS interacts with state government
and specialty hospitals for bringing an understanding
between the parties through an MOU.
At present, there are 186 hospitals in the telemedicine
network including 152 in remote and rural areas and 34
super specialty hospitals in major cities. DOS also supports
telemedicine national grid activities through Task Force
formed by Directorate of Health Services.
info@isro.org
harsha.y@gmail.com
Lahary Ravuri works at IBM's Silicon
Valley Laboratory in San Jose, CA.
She is responsible for business
development and Data Servers
enablement. She grew up in ISRO's
Satish Dhawan Space Center and was
deeply involved in several academic,
social and cultural activities of SDSC
both as a participant and organizer for over ten years.
She is an avowed student of Space Programs. She
holds Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Electrical
Engineering.
46 TECHNOLOGY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Pedal Power Technlogy

INTEGRATING VILLAGE INDUSTRY AND HUMAN POWER
DR. NARENDRA SHAH

Pedal Power is a simple, cheap, and convenient source of energy,

which can be applied to a wide range of jobs. The work started at the Centre
for Technology Alternaticves for Rural Areas, IIT Bombay.

P
EDAL power energy has been in use since the 18th The work, started at IIT-Bombay, has developed and
century. It uses the most powerful muscles in the demonstrated applications of pedal power in battery
body: the quads, hamstrings, and calves. When ped- charging, potters’ wheels water pumping, wood turning
aling in a circular motion at sixty to eighty revolutions per lathe, paddy threshing, and spices (masala) grinding.
minute, with the use of toe clips, almost every muscle in
the human legs can be used to make energy. Ninety-five Potters wheel
percent of the exertion put into pedal power is converted Pedal power potter’s wheel consists of a driving mecha-
into energy. nism, seating arrangement,
rotary wheel and plastic splash
Pedal power can be incor- pan. The driving mechanism
porated in the lives of fami- consists of a chain and sprocket
lies living in rural areas to drive with a set of bevel gears,
improve the quality of their which convert human energy
lives while being environ- into horizontal rotary motion
ment friendly. In the absence and transmit it to the wheel.
of electricity, pedal power The wheel acts as a "potter’s
serves as a substitute renew- wheel" as well as flywheel that
able energy generating curbs the effect of the uneven-
about 75 watts per person ness associated with pedaling.
suitable for about 6 hours per The wheel would have a full
day. This can also be useful in range of speed control from
natural calamities like earth- slow revolutions to fast (i.e. 100
quakes, cyclones etc where to 300 rpm). It can hold both
no other power source is fast and slow speeds accurately
available. Many of the villages where electricity is nor under load.A prototype is installed and has been tested at
available or available erratically, pedal power is a promising the Yusuf Meheraaly Centre, Tara Village in Raigad district,
substitute. supported by Khadi and Village Industries Commission
(KVIC), Mumbai.
Relevant in today's context?
With the overabundance of automobiles and electric Electricity Generator (Battery Charger)
powered machines, pedal power can be an environmental- The shortages in grid-supplied electricity (load shedding
ly friendly power solution for decentralized rural applica- times, typically 8-12 hrs / day in some states of India) are
tions, such as rural industry (wood carver, stone polisher met by kerosene and petrol gensets. The genesets are
and buffer, jeweler's lathe, and pottery wheel and small many times out of reach of poor households. A pedal pow-
scale electricity generation), food processing (appliances ered generator provides a method of generating electricity
such as a juicer, potato peeler, cherry pitter, or a butter by means of a modified bicycle for producing electricity.
churn can also use with pedal power), and on farm (pedal
power can be used to pump water, thresh and clean Human and mechanical energy is converted into an elec-
grains etc.). trical current by means of a Direct Current (DC) generator
that is connected by a chain to the flywheel. The energy
 TECHNOLOGY 47
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

created by the DC these appliances. The unit can generate approximately 8

generator can be Amp-hr power by peddling 1 hrs @40-50 rpm. It is
stored in various enough to light two CFL lamps (10W) for four hours.
types of dry/lead-
acid batteries. Reciprocating double
Also, energy that acting water pump
is stored within It consists of two reciprocating pumps, a flywheel, cycle
the battery can be frame, chain and sprocket drive, and connecting rod. A
utilised for use in single person can operate the pump. Each pump can pro-
DC appliances duce discharge of 24 lit/min. Discharge of 48 lit/min can
such as those be obtained at normal operational (peddling) speed. Pedal
found in automo- driven pumps can be used as a standby for electric or diesel
tive mobile pumps for pumping the water from well or tank or nala
homes. If Alter- (maximum suction head of 30 ft.). In the remote areas,
nating Current neither electricity supply nor diesel engines are easily avail-
(AC) appliances able. In such places, a pedal powered pump can serve the
are in place, then purpose.
an inverter must be used to transfer the 12 volts of DC cur-
rent into the standard 230 volts of AC current for usage by nshah@iitb.ac.in

E
CONOMYecology can-
not sustain itself without
ecology. Hence, prudent
uses of natural resources
Resurgence
become central to all life INVALUABLE INFORMATION SOURCE
forms. This truth is continu-
ously being brought to the limelight with each
publication of 'Resurgence,' an international
magazine started in 1966. Ever since its emer-
gence, ‘Resurgence’ has been an invaluable
source of information and inspiration. It aims to
generate pro-active behavior through ecological,
ethical and spiritual awareness. Each issue is
unique. Its features are diversified. They fall into
art, architecture, development, ecology and
environment, education, food, genetics, health
and healing, philosophy, peace studies, recycling,
spirituality etc. It is inter and intra disciplinary with
renowned writers and thinkers of the ecological and spiri-
tual movement across the globe.
‘Resurgence’ has earmarked a place for itself in The
Schumacher Circle that comprises Green Books, Intermedi-
ate Technology, The New Economics Foundation, Schu-
macher College, The Schumacher Society, Schumacher
Book Service and The Soil Association. All these owe their
existence to E.F. Schumacher
and his inspiring and world-
acclaimed book ‘Small is Beau-
tiful,’ published in 1973.
Food for thought can be
drawn from visiting www.resurgence.org and
clicking gallery, shop, resources, energy and
about Satish Kumar, the editor of the magazine
since 1973. He is also the founder of the Small
School in Hartland. The school focuses on com-
bining education with ecological and spiritual val-
ues. In 1991, Mr. Kumar helped found Schu-
macher College, an international centre for eco-
logical studies and serves as its Director of Pro-
grams. He is a museum of experiences drawn
from his barefoot journeys across many coun-
tries. Networking with The Phone Co-op is itself an inspi-
ration of how we can transform our green ideas into mind-
ful actions. They follow an ethical path while doing busi-
ness. ‘Resurgence’ uses both print and electronic media to
reach people with a mission of making them think of how
right thinking leads to right actions and what right actions
mean to us and future generations to come.
pragnanand@hotmail.com

(Pragnanand Busi is a development professional based in Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India)
48 TECHNOLOGY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Models of Sustainable Technology

FOR BUILDING MATERIALS, ENERGY AND EDUCATION
DR. D.K. MISHRA
Association for India’s Development (AID) volunteers study and support progressive
organizations working on holistically oriented development projects in areas
of health, education, livelihoods, natural resources and human rights.

A
SSOCIATION for India's Development is a regis-
tered nonprofit organization in the United States
with chapters in 30-35 locations in US and 8-10
locations in India. AID volunteers have attempted to
apply science to serve societal problems, and also to
guard against abuses of science and pseudo science to
advance pseudo-development that confers short term
benefits to few at expense of many.
Introduction
The work of AID in the state of Orissa over the past
two years has been managed by the state chapter.
AID Orissa has been able to assist disadvantaged
rural communities
through the imple-
mentation of the AID
Rural Technology
Resource Center
(ARTRC). AID Orissa
has been working with
individuals on a grass-
roots level to create sustainable
communities through the
enhancement of individual skills
and knowledge. Traditional liveli-
hoods are maintained and indige- Fig 1. Photographs show machine,
nous skilled workers are not made block design and prototype wall.
obsolete and hence forced to move
away from their villages to find employment. With ten
to fifteen staff and almost 50 student volunteers, AID
Orissa has developed a range of projects in the Gajap-
ati district that target livelihood training and income
generation, education, community development and
environmental issues. AID Orissa has close links with
the Jagannath Institute of Technology (JITM) and has
joint projects with the help of students and faculty of
JITM.
Building Technology
Low cost, appropriate and affordable housing is essential
for Orissa as it frequently experiences natural disasters
and the poor that suffer the consequences. In this
regard, AID has been working with hand-pressed
mechanical interlocking block technology (Fig 1) with
JITM and some of our partner NGO's. AID USA has sup-
ported the construction of several demonstration struc-
tures and training centre both of which we have incorpo-
rated the mechanical interlocking blocks so as to demon-
strate to the local communities the benefits of this tech-
nology. They have numerous advantages, both economi-
cally and environmentally, over tra-
ditional bricks. They do not require
wood or coal firing as they are sun
dried, can be cement stabilised (6-
8%), utilise rocky infertile soil as
opposed to traditional brick which
use nutrient rich fertile soil, fly ash-
cement combinations work well (fly
ash being a waste product of ther-
mal power generation), do not
require mortar between layers, can
be reinforced vertically and horizon-
tally with iron rods for cyclone or
earthquake resistance and lintels
and beams can be formed by sim-
ple insertions into the press when
forming the mechanical interlocking
blocks. So far over twenty machines
have been fabricated and supplied to NGOs,
entrepreneurs and others that are being used successfully
in many parts of Orissa.
Energy
A low cost solar powered LED lantern (Fig 2) has been
developed by students of UIUC (University of Illinois at
Urbana Champaign) and JITM (Jagannatha Institute for
Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi) for use
in remote rural communities that are not on the power
grid. When student members of Engineers Without Bor-
ders (EWB, www.ewb.org) and Association for India's
 TECHNOLOGY 49
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Development (AID, www.aidindia.org) of JITM decided
to join hands to take up appropriate technology based
projects for remote communities in India, the result was
a low cost solution for lighting.
Two billion people light their homes
with oil lanterns. These lamps produce a
miniscule amount of light, and due to
their inefficiency are estimated to result in
additional consumption of one-third of
the total energy used globally for all elec-
trical home lighting, with a disproportion-
ately large corresponding contribution to
carbon dioxide and soot emissions.
In a continuing trend, Light Emitting
Diodes (LEDs) have recently become
more affordable and more power effi-
cient. LEDs operate at low voltages, and
have incredible efficiencies at very low
power levels (currently over 30 lumens
per watt at one watt). Solar LED lantern
that has been designed is equal to a
kerosene lantern in usefulness and com-
parable in light output. The goal is a light
source with a power consumption close
to one watt. This will allow the use of a
small photovoltaic panel to charge a 12
volt 1.2 to 1.5 amp-hour battery. Its
design uses a number of smaller LEDs
wired in a parallel series arrangement.
This design has the ability to direct and
focus the light without reflectors, uses
only one third the current, and has the Fig 2. Solar charged battery
resulting capacity to employ a 12-volt powered low cost
battery and photovoltaic cell.
Kerosene hurricane lanterns (the most common type of
oil lantern in the developing world) cost Rs 200, are esti-
mated to last 2.5 years, and are generally used to burn
rupees 60 to 70 in kerosene per month. The proposed
solar lantern has been made to last five years, with Rs
180, battery replacement required every twenty months.
So, the long term cost of ownership for the solar lantern
is preliminarily estimated to be 35% that of the kerosene
lantern. With the help of a grant from Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), students of JITM in collabora-
tion with Engineer's Without Borders (EWB) and member
students from University of Illinois have
recently fabricated eighty prototype lamps
for trial in villages near JITM.
Education
Terminal computing using a back-end
server computer to power a network of
cheap client terminals is a cost-effective
means for facile delivery of education and
information and opening up new and con-
temporary income generation avenues for
the underserved. Other advantages of this
information technology concept include
lower system maintenance and adminis-
tration costs, reduced hardware costs by
using old, donated PCs as thin clients,
open-source software availability, and
importantly, a mechanism to create linkage
between technical colleges and counter-
part schools for joint socially-conscious
projects. As part of a vision of appropriate
technology and knowledge-economy pre-
paredness for the digital have-nots, SEEDS
with strong cooperation of AID Orissa and
JITM, Paralakhemundi has completed
deployment of our first CfM system at the
Upalada High School in the tribal Gajapati
region (which seems to be at the bottom
of Orissa's "education pyramid".)
LED lantern The system consisting of six computers
and software tightly networked together
cost us a total of Rs. 46,000. One hundred girls and boys
out of the total 300 students signed up for the computer
class paying a fee of Rs. 10 a month. We hope to work
to provide internet connectivity through mobile vans.
dhanadam@gmail.com

Dhanada Kanta Mishra obtained his Master's degree from the University of Oklahoma and
Doctorate from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Most recently he has been the
Principal and later the Director (R&D) at JITM, Paralakhemundi in Orissa. He also worked as
the first Dean (R&D) at the KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa. He has worked with Rocla
Technology, in Australia and ACC in India in corporate R&D. His main interest is in the areas
of industrial waste utilization and appropriate technology. His passion is in the development
sector as a volunteer of the Association for India's Development (AID).
50 TECHNOLOGY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

A Nano-Solution to A Mega Problem

REMOVING ARSENIC FROM WATER USING IRON MAGNET NANOPARTICLES
PROF. D BALASUBRAMANIAN
Arsenic is a silent killer. It causes skin lesions, affects the stomach, liver, lung, kidney and
blood, disabling the body over time. It combines with proteins and enzymes, inactivating
them and thus causing slow metabolic disorders. At the extreme, it causes cancer.

B
ANGLADESH has been battling with a silent public
health disaster for the past thirty years. The culprits
are the deadly arsenic compounds present in their
tube-well water. Earlier to 1970s, health authorities found
an epidemic of gastrointestinal diseases due to the con-
tamination of surface water from the lakes and rivers by
disease-carrying microbes. In a well-intentioned move,
they embarked on a programme, in collaboration with
UNICEF and private parties, of digging tube-wells, so as
to provide safe drinking water. By the end of 1997, over
80% of its population had access to tube-well water.
Alas, tube-well water is not safe either. It contains arsenic
salts at levels far higher than permissible. The problem is not
a directly man-made one. Silt from rivers upstream has
been, over the centuries, collecting and depositing arsenic
in subterranean layers. Tube-well water arsenic contamina-
tion is not restricted to Bangladesh alone, but is also seen
in Bihar and Eastern UP. But it is Bangladesh that has been
hit so calamitously. History is replete with examples of
arsenic-induced poisoning and death. Two Popes and even
Napoleon Bonaparte are thought to have been murdered
through arsenic poisoning. But the scale in Bangladesh is
massive. Over 40 million of its 130 million are affected in
varying degrees of severity.
Some methods have been suggested and used to help
clear the body of ingested arsenic and prevent skin
lesions. Selenium intake appears to remove some arsenic.
Some have suggested that iron sulfate be used in order to
help flush arsenic out of the system. Others have suggest-
ed that the amino acid methionine may help in reducing
the lesion. Clearly, prevention is better than cure.
How does one plan to remove the offending arsenic from
water? Boiling the water to precipitate the arsenic does not
work, since it does not come out of solution, as calcium
does from hard water. Nor does boiling convert arsenic into
any harmless form, as happens with water contaminated by
microbes. What we are looking for is an efficient, inexpen-
sive method that needs little or no energy, and is usable by
families, communities and cities. The method should be
applicable at all scales, from the individual families to the
city water supply agencies. Herein lies the grand challenge.
A group of researchers from Rice University at Houston,
TX, USA has been working for the last several years on pre-
cisely this problem. They have now come out with a work-
able solution that appears to satisfy many of the above
requirements. And their solution, published in the 10
November 2006 issue of Science, makes use magnetic
nanoparticles of iron oxide.
We humans, with our height and girth in meters, are
’meter-particles.‘ Tiny ants, fruitflies and lice are 'millime-
ter particles' or 'milliparticles,' while bacteria, which are a
thousand-fold smaller, are 'microparticles.' Scaling equally
down, we reach molecules and atoms whose sizes are in
nanometers or even less. As we reach this nano-scale, the
properties of materials change remarkably. Size matters
here; it becomes the determinant of the property. Gold
glitters as a nugget, as a millimeter speck, and even as a
micron particle. Cut it down to the nano scale; it loses the
glitter; even its electrical conductivity changes. New laws
of physics, of the quantum world, begin to operate here.
Chemically it is the same, but in various physical proper-
ties, nano-gold is quite different from macro-gold.

Prof. D Balasubramanian is the Director of Research, Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation. He

has received many national and international awards for his outstanding contributions in science
particularly in the area of genetics and molecular biology of eye related diseases. He is the
recipient of UNESCO award for science popularization and TWAS award for basic medical
science. Govt. of India conferred upon him Padmashree in 2002. Same year, he has received
prestigious Chevalier de l'ordre National du Mérite from the President of France.

Magnetite, a composite oxide of iron, is a good magnet.
Below 40 nm in size, its magnetic properties actually
become more pronounced, and becomes what physicists
call a superparamagnet. At the same time, as the particle
size reduces, the proportion of surface area it exposes also
increases. This allows it to 'stick' to material more avidly
than in the bulk phase.
What Rice University researchers have done is to exploit
this nano-size behaviour of magnetite. They prepared 16-
nm size magnetite particles, stirred up a bit of this material
in a beakerful of arsenic-contaminated water. Two things
happened. Magnetite, being an iron-containing material,
has an affinity to bind to arsenic salts, and it did so very
I
T has been said that in terms of importance,
water is globally the next oil. It has also been
said that the next world war may be fought over
water. At least in the Indian context such is the
value of water that it is time for the country to have
a National Water Policy with an unquenchable
commitment to implement.
The cost of women fetching water in India is said
to be equivalent to a national loss of income of Rs
1000 crore. Do we need such kind of statements to
wake us up?
1.8 million children die each year of diarrhea -
4,900 deaths each day. Every NGO working in
Rural India and Urban Slums can help in stopping
these deaths.
Poor people pay more for water. Poor people liv-
ing in the slums often pay 5-10 times more for a liter
of water than wealthy people living in the same city.
For free downloads such as simple posters on
water, district wise NGOs and other organisations
working on water, railfall in your district, water qualiy
kits, and many more useful data and information,
visit at .
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/
or write to portal@arghyam.org
TECHNOLOGY 51
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
avidly, thanks to the large surface area it presents at this nm
size. This removed the dissolved arsenic very efficiently
from the water. Secondly, they placed an external magnet
under the beaker. This external magnetic field induced the
aggregation or clumping of the magnetite into large
chunks, which could be decanted or filtered out, leaving
arsenic-free water.
What does it mean to Bangladesh, and parts of India
affected by arsenic-contaminated water? Here then
appears a method worth trying both at the small scale and
at the larger community level. Nano-Davids for Mega-
Goliaths!
(Source: The Hindu)
3 Million Euros for Clean Energy Projects
R ENEWABLE Energy and
Energy Efficiency Partner-
ship (REEEP) announced a call
for project proposals which
support the development of
markets for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The
project call is REEEP's largest in its four-year history with
more than 3 million Euro available for projects in least
developed countries and emerging market economies.
Consortium funds
The project call received
funding from a consortium
comprised of Ireland, Italy, New
Zealand, Norway and the Unit-
ed Kingdom. The REEEP call is
an open tender seeking projects
from priority countries - China, India and Brazil and from
across the developing world.
Energy efficiency
REEEP has also decided to further increase the importance
of energy efficiency in its portfolio and throughout emerg-
ing markets. The project call will be seeking bidders for the
production of a REEEP Report on Energy Efficiency in order
to accurately portray the benefits and role that energy effi-
ciency can play in improving energy security, lowering car-
bon emissions, and enhancing industrial competitiveness.
Dr. Marianne Osterkorn, REEEP International Director,
stated that the partnership can now add value across a
number of areas.
http://www.reeep.org
52 NGO
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
SULABH INTERNATIONAL
Some Inconvenient Questions
for India’s NGO Movement
BHAMY V. SHENOY
An estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide have no access to safe and hygienic
toilets today and 700 million are in India.
I
T was many decades ago Pandit Nehru announced
that "The day every one of us gets a toilet to use, I
shall know that our country has touched the pinnacle
of progress." By this measure, India has a long way to go.
The seventh World Toilet Summit held in Delhi in 2007
brought this inconvenient truth to the national agenda.
Thanks to a well known NGO, Sulabh International, the
issue has been brought to the attention of many in recent
years.
Even more shocking and painful fact is that more than
half a million scavengers clean 10 million toilets in India
today with their bare hands. Most of them are in UP,
Rajasthan, MP and Gujarat. There is a movement to
eradicate manual scavenging by 2010 called Safai Kar-
machari Andolan (SKA). Indian government has passed
a law in 1993 banning manual scavenging. Why has the
law failed so far to stop this dreadful practice? Will a
movement like SKA make a difference when a strong
and well known NGO like Sulabh International has not
succeeded all these years?
In 1974 Sulabh International was founded by
Bindeswar Pathak in Patna. Sulabh is operating and
maintaining about 6,000 community souchalayas today
in some 1,100 towns and cities, in 29 states and 3
Union Territories of India. A souchalaya can be a simple
urinal facility to a more elaborate complex with bathing,
laundry, urinal and telephone facilities with 24 hours
attendant service on the premise. All Sulabh facilities
work on the principle of a use-and-pay system so that
public exchequer is not burdened. Usually these Sulabh
facilities are clean and have 24-hour water supply. Sula-
bh also operates suachalayas in several important rail-
way stations. Usually these are far better than the ones
operated by the government or even those by some
other private parties. It is to the credit of Sulabh that
many government agencies have requested it to oper-
ate sanitation facilities in several places.
Another dreadful aspect of manual scavenging is the
perpetuation of abominable caste system and untoucha-
bility. It is mostly Dalits who are involved in manual scav-
enging. Sulabh has made efforts to educate the children
of these scavengers by opening special schools and pro-
viding opportunities to improve their standard of living.
Their efforts are definitely laudable. Still most of these
Dalits remain poor and unable to get out of the vicious
poverty cycle.
Since no hygienic toilets are available, waterborne dis-
eases kill more than 500,000 children every year in India,
mostly from diarrhea. This by itself should have to put the
problem of lack of enough toilets on the national agen-
da.
In some places, Sulabh has succeeded in producing
methane by composting the human excrement. Electrici-
ty is produced using methane to run the water pumps.
However, Sulabh technology continues to remain tradi-
tional, needing water. A South African company has
developed modern toilets which require no water, no
plumbing, and almost no maintenance. Once a week a
tray below is emptied of waste, and then turned into an
almost odorless compost by a solar heater and natural
bacteria.
Green Cross Society of Mumbai has developed an
odorless self-flushing toilet for slum sanitation. People
carry 1-2 liters of water for defecation; the thick sewage
slurry gets treated in two horizontal shallow reactors
using the BIOSANITIZER and planted filter. Clean water
produced is pumped to the overhead tank that feeds the
continuous flushing system. (for more information con-
tact toiletguru@gmail.com). This technology has yet to
get popularity and can be considered as experimental.

By any standard, Sulabh Souchalaya has contributed
immensely to solve several sanitation and night soil related
problems in India. Thanks to Mr. Bindeswar Pathak, every
major city in India has Sulabh souchalayas today. In the
process Mr. Pathak has also been able to improve his stan-
dard of living for which no one should envy him. In many
ways his contribution to India is comparable to Ambani's
through Reliance or Narayana Murthy's through Infosys.
His contribution on GNP scale will not amount to much. But
his contribution to improve the standard of living of the
scavengers or helping millions who needed clean toilets is
immense. All kinds of national (Padma Bhushan) and inter-
national awards have been showered on Pathak. Thanks to
him, more than 60,000 people are employed.
With all these accomplishments, have we solved the san-
itation problem of India? The government has allocated
resources to build thousands of latrines. But it is not
enough. Every railway station reminds us of the horrible
state of lack of sanitation. Despite the Sulabh souchalayas
in many cities, finding clean toilets in urban areas is a night-
mare. In rural areas, one need not even look for them.
Many rural based NGOs like Sulabh have been also
involved in a monumental task of providing latrines to each
household. Still providing clean toilet facilities to each fam-
ily has remained a dream. Why? This is not because of the
size of Pathak's organization. It is a very huge organization
operating in most large states in India. It has economic
clout and access to international and national funding. Also,
most of its operations are self-sustaining. There are thou-
sands of NGOs which have come into existence in different
NGO 53
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
parts of India to make use of funding provided by the
government to construct toilets. Why have these enter-
prising or dedicated individuals not adapted the Sulabh
model to enrich themselves but also to help the society?
There are no entry barriers, and the capital requirement is
not huge.
Pathak is a Brahmin who is influenced by Mahatma
Gandhi and took up the great challenge to get rid of man-
ual scavenging. This clearly shows that belonging to an
"upper caste" need not be an obstacle for people to get
involved in a non-glamorous sector like sanitation facility
which is traditionally maintained by the so-called lower
caste.
The crucial question is this: despite 30 years of exis-
tence, why have Sulabh and other NGOs not been able to
solve the deplorable and horrible dehumanizing state of
affairs of those who are employed in this sector?
Political system in India wants to adapt a quota system
even for premier educational institutions supposedly to
help the downtrodden. We have had these affirmative
action programs even before Independence. Why have
they singularly failed to come to the assistance of the
manual scavengers? Why has the NGO movement, which
is looking for deserving causes, not taken up the cause to
get rid of this abominable system of handling night soil?
One lesson we can learn from the Sulabh experience is
that for the size of India, we need to have multiple num-
bers of mega NGOs and also a strong all India movement
to bring about the needed reform.
54 NGO
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Informal Workers
Benefit from NIDAN
N
IDAN, has been an organisation 5000 workers have been brought under its
intensively working with informal coverage. Collective enterprises, owned
workers of Bihar and outside since a and controlled by the communities, are
decade on various development issues. being promoted. Nidan has been at the
These workers belong to the poorest sec- forefront of the campaign for a policy for
tions of society. The target group includes urban street vendors and it works consis-
hawkers, vendors, petty business men and tently on advocating better policies and
women, agricultural labourers, rag pickers, programs for the informal workers from
construction workers, domestic servants and work conditions to housing to micro-
migrant workers as well as poor and desti- finance to social security It has also joined
tute children. many organizations in the campaign for
Comprehensive Social Security for informal
The activities workers.
comprise Micro
Finance (Nidan Nidan is
promotes the presently work-
saving habit and ing in six districts
makes credit of Bihar as well
accessible as Jharkhand,
through finan- Delhi and Jaipur
cial institutions), city.
Thrift and Credit
Co - operatives, N I D A N
Social Security bagged the
for workers in Bihar Innovation
the unorganised Forum Award
sector, inclusive for Oraganising
education for the Street Vendors
children of informal workers, extending in Bihar and another prize for the insur-
legal aid and rights protection, and a social ance program for the Informal Sector
security policy for urban street vendors. workers. These awards are given by the
Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society
The thrift and credit program of Nidan supported by World Bank. The Deputy
covers more than 20,000 workers. The pre- Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil K. Modi pre-
sent turnover including linkages with banks sented the awards to the President of
is around Rs. 4 crore. A micro-insurance NIDAN, Ms.Prabhabati Devi, herself a ven-
program covers 26,000. Individual insur- dor associated with NIDAN from its
ance is also being encouraged and around beginning.
 PROFILE 55
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Dr. M.P. PARAMESWARAN

(Leader of Popular Science Movement)

Widely regarded as a leader of popular science movement in the country, Dr. M.P. Parameswaran is a strong
believer in the teachings of Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi. He calls for some sweeping changes in India's
human society. The primary need, in his view, is evolution of a participative democracy. Every able-bodied
citizen should undertake societal responsibilities, not dictated by benefit for self or his kith and kin.

A Marxist and General Secretary of the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad, he advocates enforceable right to
information and the right to recall unworthy elected representatives. The nation's overall economy should be
so structured that individual citizen's lives should become more and more free from global controls, he points
out.

Closely associated with Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (Indian Organisation for Learning & Science), Dr.
Parameswaran earnestly pleads for the nation's Science Agenda to be reset. It should find answers to ques-
tions posed by the problems of the poor and the disadvantaged. New priorities should emerge. Weapons
research should be done away with and space explorations and high energy physics should be accorded less-
er priorities compared to the health of the millions and sustainable agriculture. Development of cheap solar
energy should be preferred to nuclear energy "which is both limited and dangerously polluting." Industry and
business enterprises as well as habitat planning should be so integrated as to minimise time and human ener-
gy on travel of citizens to work and back. All these are wholly dependent on science and technology inputs
of a different kind.

Says Dr. Parameswaran: "Science and scientists can help the society to change tracks through a creative, infor-
mative and persuasive process. And, for this the scientists themselves have to change tracks."

A graduate in Electrical Engineering and Doctorate in Nuclear engineering, Parameswaran has served the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre for about two decades. Currently the chairperson of the Bharat Gyan Vigyan
Samithi, a scientist-turned-social activist, he says there are two roads one that leads the "species to liberation"
and full development of humans as humans and another that leads to "species extinction" or species degra-
dation due to resource depletion and climatic catastrophes. Therefore, the question as Dr. Parameswaran puts
it, is: will we amass enough wisdom to change the course of human history, from the direction of destruc-
tion to the direction of emancipation ?
56 PROFILE
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

D.T. BARKI
(A Solar Energy Specialist)

D.T. BARKI, 49, has been in solar photovoltaic industry for last 25 years. A B.Tech graduate in Electron-
ics Engineering (1982), from KREC (now NITK), Surathkal, India, he has acquired international reputation
with solar PV technologies, through the successful implementation of solar projects (cells, modules and
systems). He applies his scientific, technical and management expertise to all aspects of the challenge to
implement sustainable energy services, especially, solar PV globally for the benefit of people and the
planet. He has extensive knowledge in setting up solar cell manufacturing and running them successful-
ly. Mr.Barki has several shop floor contributions in inventing many defect analysis methods in the solar
cell and module processing.

Present, he runs his solar business in his own company, Noble Energy Solar Technologies Ltd (NEST), at
Hyderabad, India (since 2001). NEST was started in 1998 with product launch in 2001, which manufac-
tures affordable solar modules and lanterns of international standard for the benefit of the really needy
people of the developing countries. NEST, under the stewardship of Mr.Barki, is the market leader in sell-
ing solar lanterns, esp., AISHWARYA® solar mini lantern brand in India. Now, NEST runs as an indepen-
dent organization in promoting solar lighting systems.

Mr.Barki has been conferred Ashden Light Award for 2005 by the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Ener-
gy, London. The award was given away by HRH Prince Charles on 30th June 2005 in London. Mr.Barki
won the Award for Light (£30,000) for developing a small solar lantern, Aishwarya™, which makes safe,
smoke-free light affordable for the poorest people. His ultimate mission, through solar technology, is to
make the world kerosene-free.

His technological and social skills are to bring light to life because he believes that life is light and light is
life. Mr.Barki completed 25 years of service in solar PV industry. In order to commemorate this silver
jubilee occasion, he is working on launching a worldwide campaign "towards creating awareness for Elim-
inating Light Poverty in the world."
58 ESSAY
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Can Scientists Do More for Development?
DR. SRINIVASA RAO
F
ROM a high-ranking politician to the poorest person,
everyone is responsible for the under-developed state
of India. Productivity is the answer to eliminating
poverty. Research and Development (R&D) has always
been the key to doing things better, faster and with less
energy. The discoveries of generations of scientists resulted
in numerous inventions that impact and improve human
condition. Developed countries garner a disproportionately
large percentage of discoveries and product generation
resulting in the betterment of their living standards.
Unfortunately, the disproportionate number of discover-
ies made in developed countries are for the benefit of those
who can afford novelties. Furthermore, the bulk of
research conducted in developing countries does not direct-
ly address poverty alleviation efforts. If India is to become
a developed country, it is absolutely essential to focus its
R & D efforts to poverty alleviation programs.
India's expenditure per scientist is comparable to that of
developed countries. Despite the high expenditure, Indian
scientists produce far fewer patents (Table 1) resulting in a
very high cost (Figure 1) per patent (1, 2 & 3). In India
development of each patent costs $20 million whereas it
costs just $3.9 million in USA. A patent is a good measure
of scientific productivity. The data presented indicates that
there is much room for Indian scientists to increase their
productivity.
Energy helps increase productivity. Affordable and reli-
able energy is recognized as an important factor in eradicat-
ing poverty. India needs energy several folds more than
what is available now in order to develop and sustain
development. The current sources of natural gas and oil do
not meet the needs in a sustainable manner. Cheaper, safer
and cleaner energy sources are needed. Thus, solar energy
conversion should be a focus area for Indian research
because of the promise it holds to improve the lives of the
majority of Indians. Solar energy is captured most efficient-
ly, 97%, in photosynthesis. Commercially available man-
made solar photovoltaic panels have an energy conversion
efficiency of only 15%. NASA achieved 30% efficiency for
space applications but at an increased cost. If Indian scien-
tists can double the efficiency of commercial solar photo-
voltaic cells, solar power can be affordable. If solar energy
is affordable, reducing poverty will be easier and faster.
R&D in the energy sector is critical not only to augment
our energy resources but also to attain energy indepen-
dence. In August 2006, the report of the Expert Committee
on Integrated Energy Policy, published by the Planning
Commission, recommended to provide Rs. 1,000 Crore (-
$250 million) for non-atomic energy R&D fund. Individuals,
academic research institutions, consulting firms and private
and public sector enterprises can compete for grants from
this fund for identified and directed research (4). Even-
though the amount may appear to be small, if Indian scien-
tists can use this well, they can contribute in a meaningful
way to reduce India's energy poverty.
Solar R&D in the energy sector is mentioned here as an
example. There are several other fields which need the
immediate attention of Indian scientists. So the answer is,
yes, Indian scientists can and shall do a lot more for human
development!
REFERENCES:
1. Patent data (2004), scientist data (2003
http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006 table 13 - pp327-329 -
2. Population data (2004) -
http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006 table 5 - pp 297-299
3. GDP data (2003) -
http://www.theodora.com/wfb2003/rankings/gdp_
2003_0.html
4. http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_intengy.pdf
 A historical initiative by
the International
Association for Human
Values and the United
Nations Millennium
Campaign...

.. to provide a platform
All-India NGO Summit for India’s NGO
community to work
at together in integrating
sustainable development
Art of Living International Centre, with a healthy planet
Bengaluru Date 31 January -
SUMMIT’S IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES ARE 2 February 2008
Venue : Art of Living
Outlining the major environmental challenges that India must tackle; International Centre,
Developing a practical understanding of the solutions, techniques and technologies that Bengaluru
can be imbibed into various NGO sectors; and
Promoting the integration of principles of sustainable development into the policies and Speakers include
programs of governments. H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri
SUMMIT DESIGN Dr. Ashok Khosla
The premise of the All-India NGO Summit's Triple Bottom-Line approach is in the recognition that Sunderlal Bahuguna
Ecology, Economy and Technology are interdependent. Dr. Vandana Shiva
The inaugural, panel discussion and closing sessions will be held at the Vishalakshi Mantap, an Kartikeya Sarabhai
architectural wonder conceived and built under direct guidance of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
A ‘Dil Se Mela’ Exhibition will be held simultaneously.
Accomodation is available at one of the comfortable housing complexes at the International Centre.
www.sangamngosummit.org
Summit Fee: Rs. 5000/- per person also includes Delegation Fee, Tel: (080) 32902679,
the Art of Living Part I Course, Sri Sri Yoga Course, +91 9243418841
Accomodation for 4 nights at Summit Venue ( Jan 30 - 31, Feb 1 - 2) E-mail: ngo07summit@gmail.com
 Salutes

Indian Scientists
and
95th Indian Science Congress
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