In news- A disinfection system, called Vajra Kavach, is developed by Mumbai-based startup Indra Water.
About the system-
- It removes any possible traces of the disease-causing SARS-Cov-2 virus from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), N95 masks, coats, gloves and gowns.
- It enables reuse of PPEs and other materials used by healthcare workers.
- It helps to reduce biomedical waste generation.
- The disinfection is done in just a few minutes.
- The system is able to achieve a 1,00,000-fold reduction in the number of microorganisms.
- In scientific terms, tests showed 5 log (99.999%) reduction of viruses and bacteria.
- It was tested with Escherichia virus MS2 (a single-stranded RNA virus and surrogate of human respiratory viruses such as influenza virus and coronavirus) and E.coli strain C3000.
- ‘Log reduction’ is a term used to signify the relative number of living microbes that are eliminated after a process such as disinfection.
- The validation and testing of the system was done by the Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering at IIT Bombay.
- Indra Water was set up with the Department of Science & Technology (DST)’s NIDHI-PRAYAS grant (through Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT Bombay) for coming up with innovations in the water sector.
- Indra Water is one among the 51 startups which were funded and supported under Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH), an initiative by National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), DST.
About NIDHI-PRAYAS-
- An early stage prototype/ proof of concept (PoC) fund is needed to be effectively able to convert technology ideas and innovations into products, and eventually to spur entrepreneurship.
- DST-NIDHI’s PRomoting and Accelerating Young and ASpiring technology entrepreneurs (PRAYAS) is specifically to support young innovators turn their ideas into PoC.
- It is a pre-incubation initiative that would be implemented through a Program Management Unit (PMU) and the incubators selected for implementing the PRAYAS program will be the PRAYAS Centres (PCs).
Objectives-
- To enable translation of an innovative idea to a prototype.
- To provide a platform for faster experimentation and modify approaches in the idea to market journey.
- To indigenously generate innovative solutions relevant to the local and global problems.
- To attract a large number of youth who demonstrates problem solving zeal and abilities
- To work on their new technology/knowledge/innovation based startups.
- To enhance the pipeline in terms of quality and quantity of innovative startups to the incubators.
- To build a vibrant innovation ecosystem, by establishing a network between innovators, academia, mentors and incubators.
Source: PIB
