IIT Kanpur Incubated Startup Gets Rs 3.29 Crores From Ministry to Develop Smart Water Management Technologies

Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh, announced financial support of Rs. 3.29 crores to Kritsnam Technologies, a Start-up Company, incubated at IIT Kanpur to develop smart water management technologies. The minister said the the technology, initially focused on commercial users, can be a game changer in effectively monitoring & controlling the ground water exploitation across country in future.

Kritsnam Technologies (Kritsnam) is a funded and incubated startup from IIT Kanpur working on data-driven water management solutions. The Ranchi, Jharkhand-based startup envision to use freshwater sustainably for industrial, agriculture and drinking purposes.

An MoU was signed in the presence of Dr Jitendra Singh between the Technology Development Board (TDB) under Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Kritsnam Technologies Pvt Ltd, for production & commercialization of Dhaara Smart Flow Meter.

The Minister was informed that the start-up is developing ‘Dhaara Smart Flowmeter’ - an integrated system for online monitoring using two beam ultrasonic flowmeters that is designed to track the water distribution in real-time for applications such as drinking water supply, ground water extraction, industrial water usage and precision irrigation. 

Image - Kritsnam.com

The Dhaara is a new-age water meter that combines the power of IoT with the latest sensor technologies. The integrated telemetry and battery powered capabilities make it easy to manage your water consumption from anywhere and anytime (even when the power is down).

The device collects data through sensors, stores it in the device, and transmits to the online cloud servers and thereafter the data transmitted to servers is analysed and displayed in the dashboard. This unique solution is a combination of hardware & software for flow measurement and water management respectively.

Click to Enlarge [Image © - https://kritsnam.com/ ]

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Dhaara Smart Flow Meter will greatly benefit Prime Minister Modi’s Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a Rs.6,000 crore Central Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation. The scheme is being implemented in 80 water stressed districts and 8,565 Gram Panchayats of seven States viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh from 01.04.2020 for a period of five years.

Dr. Jitendra Singh further said, Dhaara Smart Flow Meter can also help bulk water consumers to budget their water usage and empower them to understand their patterns, points of inefficiencies and help them to build strong strategies for reducing water wastage.

The Dhaara Smart Flow Meter is battery operated and does not require external power and the hardware architecture is based on the Internet of Things (IoT) communication circuits which is patented in India. In addition, it complies with ISO and Central Ground Water Authority standards. The water usage data is automatically recorded in an online logbook through telemetry via 4G/2G. 

The built-in telemetry and battery-operated capabilities make it easy for users to monitor their water consumption virtually anywhere (even when the power is out). 

The product being developed initially aims at commercial users like hotels, hospitals, malls, IT parks, schools, colleges and industrial users (food products, packaged drinking water, pharmaceuticals, paper & pulp etc.).

Kritsnam raised Pre Series-A funding of Rs 6 crore (~ $8,00,000) in February this year, which was led by an IIT Kanpur’s alumni of 1987 batch, along with participation from Ashish Gupta (Founder of Helion Ventures), Kunal Shah (Founder of Cred), Basab Pradhan (former Infosys Executive) and Sanjiv Verma (former Managing Director of Baxter India), among others. 

The startup was also among the three winners of Water Challenge organized by Smart City Living Lab at IIIT Hyderabad, in collaboration with the Government of Telangana and NIUM.

It may be recalled that the Central Groundwater Authority issued guidelines under which every commercial ground water user must install a smart water meter and pay yearly bills. All the project proponents/users drawing ground water and seeking/having NOC shall have to mandatorily install tamper-proof digital water flow meters with telemetry on all the ground water abstraction structures within their premises.

Ground Water levels in various parts of the country are declining because of continuous withdrawal due to reasons such as increased demand of fresh water for various uses, vagaries of rainfall, increase in population, industrialization and urbanization etc. As per the assessment of Dynamic Ground Water Resources (2017) carried out by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in collaboration with States/UTs, out of the total 6,881 assessment units (Block/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the country, 1,186 units in 17 States/UTs have been categorized as ‘over-exploited’ where ‘Annual Ground Water Extraction’ is more than ‘Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource’.

Shri Rajesh Kumar Pathak, IP&TAFS, Secretary, TDB said, “Water is essential to all humankind & the ground water is dominant source of drinking water but the pace at which the ground water is depleting is alarming. Govt of India is taking urgent steps needed to replenish the ground water level through water harvesting technologies as well as planned & controlled ground water extraction. ‘Dhaara Smart Flow Meter’ from startup ‘Kritsnam’ would be a great addition to this endeavour. The smart meter has been designed in such a way that, it can perform ground water management with real time processing, even without electricity”.

Phool, An IIT Kanpur backed Startup Recycling Temple Waste Wins United Nations' Award

Kanpur-based startup Phool (Fomerly HelpUsGreen), which converts flowers and offerings collected from religious places into biodegradable alternative to Thermacol and incense sticks received the United Nations Young Leaders Award at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, yesterday.

Ankit Agarwal, Co-founder, Phool (Fomerly HelpUsGreen), was selected as one of the 17 young leaders for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations, at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Ankit was selected from more than 18,000 youth from more than 184 countries. As a young leader, for the next two years, Ankit will be engaged in UN advocacy efforts and support young people in the realization of the goals by collaborating with the UN on strategic opportunities. The Young Leaders, representing five continents, seventeen countries, and their constituencies of millions of young people around the world, range from scientists, inventors, story tellers and activists.

Related Reading - 10 Indian Startups That Are Making Earth A Better Place To Live

The UN Young Leaders is a flagship initiative led by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres's envoy of youth. The jury comprised of social visionaries and SDG advocates spanning across a range of backgrounds.

Founded in May 2015, by Ankit Agarwal and Karan Rastogi, Phool (Fomerly HelpUsGreen) has been supported and incubated by Tata Trusts' Social Alpha and IIT Kanpur. Phool is a sustainable solution to the monumental 'temple-waste' problem in India. Having pioneered the 'flowercycling' technology to preserve the Rivers Ganges from becoming a dumping ground for temple waste; they have recycled 11,060 metric tonnes of temple-waste flowers till date. Phool collects 8.4 tons of floral-waste daily and is upcycled into biodegradable packaging material, charcoal-free incense and natural vermicompost.

In an effort to create a circular economy, Phool employs women who were earlier manual scavengers thereby impacting more than 73 Manual Scavenger families and increasing their income 6x times. They are also being provided with facilities like insurance, bus service and medical benefits.

Ankit Agarwal, UN Young leader for SGD said, "We are deeply humbled by the UN recognition and opportunity to represent our nation, India at the prestigious forum furthering our work towards cleaning the Ganges and 2030 agenda for sustainable development."

"Three years ago, Member States committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious agenda for people and planet. In order to achieve these ambitious Goals, we must engage today's youth and empower a generation which knows about the Goals, cares about their success and actively works toward their realization," said Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake - UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Youth.

Manoj Kumar, Head, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Tata Trusts & CEO, Social Alpha said, "Phool has very innovatively applied the regenerative system model by recycling waste and also creating employment for the extremely poor and underprivileged. We are proud of what the founders have achieved in a short period."

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, said, "Flower waste to Greening, IIT Kanpur is proud to be the technology partner of Phool, a company dedicated to not only greening the environment but also in the process empowering thousands of women through this endeavor matching IIT Kanpur's credo of 'Technology for Sustainable development'."

Phool is also set to receive the 'Goal Keepers Award' award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation this month in New York and the UN Momentum of Change Award, which will be awarded as part of COP26 Summit in Poland in December. Earlier this year, Ankit Agarwal was named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Phool, An IIT Kanpur backed Startup Recycling Temple Waste Wins United Nations Award

Kanpur-based startup Phool (Fomerly HelpUsGreen), which converts flowers and offerings collected from religious places into biodegradable alternative to Thermacol and incense sticks received the United Nations Young Leaders Award at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, yesterday.

Ankit Agarwal, Co-founder, Phool (Fomerly HelpUsGreen), was selected as one of the 17 young leaders for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations, at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Ankit was selected from more than 18,000 youth from more than 184 countries. As a young leader, for the next two years, Ankit will be engaged in UN advocacy efforts and support young people in the realization of the goals by collaborating with the UN on strategic opportunities. The Young Leaders, representing five continents, seventeen countries, and their constituencies of millions of young people around the world, range from scientists, inventors, story tellers and activists.

Related Reading - 10 Indian Startups That Are Making Earth A Better Place To Live

The UN Young Leaders is a flagship initiative led by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres's envoy of youth. The jury comprised of social visionaries and SDG advocates spanning across a range of backgrounds.

Founded in May 2015, by Ankit Agarwal and Karan Rastogi, Phool (Fomerly HelpUsGreen) has been supported and incubated by Tata Trusts' Social Alpha and IIT Kanpur. Phool is a sustainable solution to the monumental 'temple-waste' problem in India. Having pioneered the 'flowercycling' technology to preserve the Rivers Ganges from becoming a dumping ground for temple waste; they have recycled 11,060 metric tonnes of temple-waste flowers till date. Phool collects 8.4 tons of floral-waste daily and is upcycled into biodegradable packaging material, charcoal-free incense and natural vermicompost.

In an effort to create a circular economy, Phool employs women who were earlier manual scavengers thereby impacting more than 73 Manual Scavenger families and increasing their income 6x times. They are also being provided with facilities like insurance, bus service and medical benefits.

Ankit Agarwal, UN Young leader for SGD said, "We are deeply humbled by the UN recognition and opportunity to represent our nation, India at the prestigious forum furthering our work towards cleaning the Ganges and 2030 agenda for sustainable development."

"Three years ago, Member States committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious agenda for people and planet. In order to achieve these ambitious Goals, we must engage today's youth and empower a generation which knows about the Goals, cares about their success and actively works toward their realization," said Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake - UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Youth.

Manoj Kumar, Head, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Tata Trusts & CEO, Social Alpha said, "Phool has very innovatively applied the regenerative system model by recycling waste and also creating employment for the extremely poor and underprivileged. We are proud of what the founders have achieved in a short period."

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, said, "Flower waste to Greening, IIT Kanpur is proud to be the technology partner of Phool, a company dedicated to not only greening the environment but also in the process empowering thousands of women through this endeavor matching IIT Kanpur's credo of 'Technology for Sustainable development'."

Phool is also set to receive the 'Goal Keepers Award' award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation this month in New York and the UN Momentum of Change Award, which will be awarded as part of COP26 Summit in Poland in December. Earlier this year, Ankit Agarwal was named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list.