New Delhi: Subhas Ola, a grassroots innovator from Rajasthan, has won the 1st prize at the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022 for his tech-based startup that helps people save energy in boilers by recycling steam. His enterprise “Geniusenergy Critical Innovation Private Limited” also won the Startup of the Year award.
The technology was invented to make khoya and other milk products. However, its modified versions could be applied to textile, food, pharma, plywood, paper mills, leather industry, chemical industry, hot water boiler generator, plastic recycle, laundry, hospitals, etc, sectors as well.
Ola’s enterprise customises the technology for use in different industries and integrates it with existing boiler infrastructure of the particular industry to save the used energy. In the specialised equipment, used steam is fed to the boiler along with condensate water through gravity. The closed-circuit design steps leakages, thereby reducing additional water requirements.
Geniusenergy Critical Innovation, a start-up recognized by Government of India, was incubated by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. It serves clientele in a variety of industries for their energy needs, helps them reduce cost, and at the same time protects the environment.
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What makes this accomplishment more significant is that Ola was one amongst, close to 2000 entrepreneurs of our country contesting for this Start-up of the Year award, representing 240 cities across the length and breadth of the country and all major sectors be it Healthcare, Fintech, E-commerce, Blockchain, EdTech, Consumer Products, Emerging Tech (AI, ML, etc.) and others.
Ola has received a variety of support from NIF. He was conferred with NIF’s 8th Biennial National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Award in the year 2015 and was also invited to be part of the 4th Batch of Innovation Scholar-In-Residence Programme of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In the same challenge, the Notion Technocrats India, another enterprise incubated by NIF which has developed a low-cost, energy-efficient, environment friendly natural water cooler based on the principle of heat exchange, has won the “Most Promising Grassroots Innovation Startup” award.
The enterprise owned by Arvindbhai Patel from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is an innovator turned entrepreneur who manufactures and distributes the Natural Water Cooler. He was conferred with NIF’s 7th National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards in the year 2013. A patent was also granted in his name. The technology continues to be refined to meet contemporary needs, and another patent was filed to that effect.
Both Ola and Patel were also supported by NIF for value addition in their technologies, product development, and also meeting the working capital requirements of the enterprise through MVIF (Micro Venture Innovation Fund), an erstwhile fund.
Congratulating all the participants and winners of the challenge, Vipin Kumar, Director, NIF, stressed that such initiatives will motivate lakhs of other innovators in the country to associate themselves with the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Sumit Sahay, Director, Selling Partner Services, Amazon India, said that the country’s small businesses have shown the path and created new benchmarks in grassroots innovation for others to follow. “These awards celebrate the confluence of innovation and technology to make Aatmanirbhar Bharat a reality,” he added.
