1

CSR Proposal

Water Pollution Management

Entrepreneurship Competition

Dr. Indumathi M Nambi

IITMadras

2

Water Pollution Management

Entrepreneurship Competition A PROPOSAL

1 Background Water pollution is a serious problem across the globe. CPCB had identified 18 polluted rivers

in India in 1995 and in the next decade 275 polluted rivers out of 445 during the year 2016-

171. Indian states generated 35,558 MLD of waste water in 2009, and of which only 11,554

MLD gets treated implying the capacity we can handle. This is just the case in India. If we

had to take into account the entire world, it turns into an international problem.

India’s water body carries 5% of the global water and 35% of global sediments. With the

untreated water released into rivers and all water channels connected, the pollutants travel

distances making it difficult to track their locations.

Some implications of water pollution are human health, ecosystem health, industrial

productivity and agricultural productivity2. The most severe of them all is water crisis. Report

by The World Bank estimated that India will have almost no water for utilization in the year

20503. Some states of India faced severe water shortage during the past years and it is quite

convincing that by 2050 we would be left with nothing. At the global level, India ranks

among the highest for its unavailability of clean water and is 19.33%4

India is amongst the top five countries in the world in terms of startups with 10000+ startups.

Total Tech startups are expected to increase to 11,500 in 2020 of which 43% are expected to

be tech-based startups. Most of these startups are in information technology (IT) and consumer

and retail sectors. Of late there is a substantial influx of startups in other verticals such as

discovery platforms, payment gateways, hyper local services, e-com logistics, healthcare, food

tech, cab aggregators etc. However, start-up activity in water pollution area significantly lags

the other sectors.

2 Carbon Zero Challenge Carbon Zero Challenge is an All India Energy and Environment Innovation &

Entrepreneurship program with a vision to “create a global impact by combining three powerful

factors Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Energy &Environment and Youth to protect future

generations”. The program’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it is one-of-its-kind initiative in its

category that exclusively focuses on energy and environment technological innovations at a

national level and supports the eco-entrepreneurs.

Carbon Zero Challenge (CZC) program was conceived at IIT Madras in 2017. The program is

being led by the Environmental engineering professor Dr Indumathi M Nambi, supported by a

team of advisors who are all alumni and well-wishes of the institute. The Carbon Zero

1 Government of India, Water.org 2 http://oe.cd/diffusepollution 3 The World Bank 2011 4 The water gap-The State of the World’s Water 2018 report by WaterAid

3

Challenge team is passionate about promoting and inspiring young minds towards Clean Tech

Innovations leading towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals

The first edition, CZC 2018 (June 2017 to April 2018) was conducted with support from U S

Consulate General Chennai, Polaris (a Virtusa company) in collaboration with Shaastra (IIT

Madras student technical festival) and Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA).

Second Edition, CZC 2019 (June 2018-May 2019) was fully supported by Virtusa with

Shaastra (IIT Madras student technical festival) and IWMA as organizing partners.

CZC partners with IIT Madras incubation cell and Keiretsu Forum on various aspects of

the project planning and implementation. A 150+ strong network of faculty, industry

professionals, investors and government officials are actively supporting the CZC initiative as

advisors, judges and mentors for the participating teams. The organizers and advisors of the

program are included in Appendix A.

2.1 Project Plan & Milestones CZC program identifies, mentors, and financially supports clean-tech innovations across India

in the following five thematic areas.

Car

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alle

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20

19

Host IIT Madras

Supported by Virtusa

Organizing Partner

Shaastra

Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA)

Car

bo

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ero

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alle

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20

18

Host IIT Madras

Supported by

U S Consulate General Chennai

Polaris (A Virtusa Company)

Organizing Partner

Shaastra

Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA)

4

The innovators and entrepreneurs are identified through an all-India contest that is organized

according to the following schedule:

2.1.1 Phase 1

The all-India competition inviting applications from students and early-stage start-ups in the

five thematic areas opens in the first and second quarter of the year. These applications are

reviewed by a panel of judges comprising of subject experts from academia and industry from

across the country through multiple rounds of evaluation. Upto 25 teams (2-5 members)

proposing the best problem-solution fit for pertinent energy and environmental challenges

through a feasible prototype/product (blueprint/lab prototype/product) or service with potential

viable business model are shortlisted.

2.1.2 Phase 2

Each team selected in Phase 1 above receives:

▪ Structured training to equip the teams with necessary skills required to build a cost-

effective prototype, identify target customer segments and build a viable business

model.

▪ Up to Rs 5 lakh seed funding build and test the prototype and evolve their business

model.

▪ Dedicated technical and business mentorship

At the end of Phase 2, the shortlisted teams demonstrate their prototype/product and present

their business model to a panel of judges comprising of academia and business professionals,

leading to selection of up to 5 best performing teams.

Timeline of CZC 2018 & CZC 2019

2.1.3 Phase 3

Once the CZC competition ends, we actively support the graduating teams to secure follow-on

seed funding from government agencies and investors on a request basis. The teams also

receive information about other competitions and opportunities in this space as they become

available to our team.

5

2.2 Outcomes

2.2.1 From Regional to National Footprint

CZC program evolved from a contest that was conducted in southern Indian States in 2018 to

a pan-India contest in 2019.

CZC 2018 CZC 2019

Indian States/UT ▪ Tamil Nadu ▪ Kerala ▪ Karnataka ▪ Puducherry ▪ Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Pan India Contest

Reached out to ▪ 2345 faculty/administrators across 944 colleges ▪ 358 incubators ▪ 150+ industries and 70+ start-ups ▪ 10000+ student database ▪ 40000+ IIT Madras alumni network ▪ 1780+ college network through NPTEL

Received 531 applications from 3

states&1 UT

Received 3923 registrations and 995 applications

from 25 states and 2 UTs

2.2.2 Practical Demonstration of Indigenous Clean-tech Innovations

Teams supported by CZC are proposing technological innovations in areas of environment

pollution control, utilization of waste materials and energy efficiency.

First two cohort of teams shortlisted in CZC 2018 and CZC 2019 demonstrated exemplary

technologies in Feb 2018 and June 2019 respectively. Annexure B presents brief description

of the CZC 2018 team and their innovations . Annexure C shows the projects from CZC 2019.

2.2.3 Ecosystem Building for Cleantech Development and Adoption

Larger goal of CZC platform is to create an enabling ecosystem that promotes and supports

cleantech innovation and their adoption by industries, public bodies and Communities. CZC

steering committee and CZC’s network of advisors and mentors are actively striving to support

this cause at various platforms.

Cleantech adoption in India via CZC platform was discussed with 300+ IIT Madras alumni at

Santa Clara (USA) on September 8th, 2018. Prof Indumathi M Nambi and Dr Sriram

Krishnan (ex-CZC steering committee) presented CZC to distinguished alumni interested in

cleantech sector. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with interested alumni

and cleantech industry representatives.

CZC initiative was showcased during IIT Madras CSR Conclave on December 10th, 2018 in

Mumbai. CZC 2018’s working prototypes were showcased in UNEP-MoEFCC’s5 exhibition

on June 5th, 2018, and received personal attention from Hon PM Narendra Modi. CZC

contest and innovations supported by CZC has been extensively covered by leading national

and local newspapers in more than 40 articles. Annexure D enlists notable coverage of CZC

2018 & CZC 2019. The social media pages of CZC have received 25000+ people

engagement including 200+ active conversation about the CZC initiative.

5United Nations Environment Programme-Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change

6

2.3 Value Proposition for CSR by CZC Innovations supported by CZC contribute towards global sustainability goals by addressing

triple bottom line; People, Planet, Prosperity. As per Schedule VII of Companies Act, CZC

project best fits the following three criteria

▪ Ensure Environmental Sustainability (in alignment with SDG goals)

▪ Foster Innovation & Entrepreneurship (in Cleantech Sector)

▪ Promotion of Education (focused on green technology development in energy, water

and waste management)

2.3.1 Ensuring Environment Sustainability

Innovations supported by CZC offers conservations of natural ecosystem and saving of

natural resources. Notable examples are:

1. CZC 2018:

a. Team JSP’s estimates that their technology ‘fuel cell for treatment of textile

effluent’ can save 5tons of CO2in one year for each kilo litre of water treated

when compared conventional (RO, Activated sludge) approaches

b. Team Electrochem’s ‘Zero Energy Prototype for Desalination coupled with

waste water treatment’ offers net carbon abatement of 4.88tons CO2per kilo

litre waste water treated over the year when compared to electrocoagulation &

RO based methods.

c. Team Enviro’s proposal of converting waste plastic to fuel by pyrolysis can

avoid emission of 2.15 kg CO2 for each kg of plastic processed as compared to

open burning. Each kg of plastic processed produces 0.3-0.7 L of oil which

can substitute for 0.3-0.5 L of a conventional fossil fuel (petrol/diesel) and

save corresponding carbon footprint of 2.3-2.7 kg CO2 emission for each litre

of fossil fuel substituted.

2. CZC 2019:

a. Team Enviraj estimates that their IoT system for drip irrigation can save upto

500m3 water/acre/year

b. Team Carpro’s agriculture dehydrator has the potential to save 140kg Co2 per

year by avoiding burning of wood for drying of cardamom

c. Team Elicuis’ tubular fuel cells have the potential to save 460Kg of CO2 per

kWH of production

d. Team IngoElectric’s personal mobility solution has the potential to save

140Kg or CO2 per year

e. Team WaterChakra’s system to recover nutrients from urine can save upto

130m3 water in 1 year.

Following graphic indicates the alignment of innovations supported through CZC with the

global sustainable development goals6.

6 United Nations. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

7

CZC 2018 CZC 2019

SD

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Cle

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ater

&

San

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Aff

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Low heat Dehydrator for Cardamom Planters

Modular clean energy from Recycled Plastic

PEM Fuel Cells

An ROV for septic tank cleaning & inspection

Retrofit solution for ICE

vehicles with electric drive train

Integrated Cold Chain

facility for B2B

Services

Mini automated

Biodiesel Maker

Novel eco-friendly lightweight and thermal

insulating ceramic from Fly-ash

Multi-functional

Agro-gantry

Machine

Assembly

Low cost analytical

device for monitoring

of pesticide residues in

fruits/vegetables

Modular self-sustaining

Moss Culture based

Filtration unit to combat

air pollution

A smart bin powered by deep learning to sort waste

Connected and Portable

Electric Vehicle for

Personal Mobility

Location based, spatially

resolved, real time air

pollution maps across the city

Activated Carbon Production

from Agro-residues

Smart Drip: Sensor based

Irrigation System

Water saving Air-

Water Dishwasher

Low Cost bricks &

tiles from waste

materials

PVT co-generation

system for hot

water & electricity

Low Cost Clean

Electricity from

Wave Energy

Solar powered

nutrient (NPK)

recovery from urine

Sea facing atmospheric water generator

Solar-powered membrane

distillationfor

domestic/industrial

desalination& wastewater

treatment

Hydrodynamic cavitation-based water disinfection

Solar based resource recovery from

Electroplating Industry effluent

Zero Energy Prototype for Desalination

coupled with waste water treatment

Innovative building & cooling system

Indoor lights & Street light automation

Innovative building & cooling system

Plastic waste cleaning from sea, lake and other water bodies

A community level off-grid plastic pyrolysis

unit

IoT powered, small scale vertical farm

Water recovery from wastewater & room

ventilation through solar chimney

Exhaust

Powered Phone

Integrating Data Acquisition Techniques

with Demand Controlled Ventilation(DCV)

Fumes powered

petrol engine

Bus routes Optimization

8

2.3.2 Innovation & Entrepreneurship

CZC 2018:

Patents: 4 teams supported through CZC 2018 have patented their innovation.

Entrepreneurship: Advisory and financial support from CZC 2018 has been instrumental in

entrepreneurial journey of the participating teams. Following teams have made notable

progress post-CZC 2018 Finale.

U-Farm7: The start-up is piloting their prototype at Hotel Marriot (Powai, Mumbai). The

team has been awarded NIDHI-EiR grant of Rs. 30000/month through SINE IIT Bombay

and secured 2nd place at i2i competition at IIM Calcutta (award Rs. 1,50,000). Currently,

it is an early stage company seeking angel investment.

JSP: The start-up recently won second place in Climate Launchpad 2018 global grand

finale in Scotland and is the first team to be supported by Climate KIC accelerator in

India. Start-up is working as contractor and consultant for restoration of 26 acres ICF

(Indian Railways) lake in Chennai. The team is currently in initial stage of fund raising.

Enviro: The start-up is currently being considered for incubation by IIT Madras

incubation cell and seed funds of Rs 1 crore from Engineers India Limited (EIL).

Ozone: The start-up is currently being considered for incubation by IIT Madras

incubation cell and seed funds of Rs 20 Lakhs from Engineers India Limited (EIL).

CZC 2019:

Incubation Team Elicius Energy IIT Madras Incubation Cell

Team U-farm SINE, IIT Bombay

Pilots Team Paper Labs at Hyderabad Culture Centre

Team Enviraj at Amity University, NCR

Team Germsafe at IOCL, Mumbai

Team Gita at IIT Madras

Team Kaatru at THSTI, Gurgaon

Team Insulight at Solaris Ceramics, Gujarat

Team Ingoelectric at Prestige Builders, Bengaluru

Funds Team Indriyam from DST-Nidhi Prayas

Team Water Chakra from IIGP Grant

Team Germsafe from IOCL & Infosys Foundation

Team Ingoelectric from Elevate 2018 & IKP Eden

Team U-Farm from DBT-BIRAC

Awards Team Carpro TNIGC 2019

Team Germsafe Aarohan Social Innovation Award

Team Pristine Energia 'Most Socially Relevant Project' on IIT Madras

Alumni Association Day 2019

7https://www.theufarm.com/

9

Team Insulight:

Gandhian Young Technological Innovation

Award 2019 & NRDC Innovative Prototypes

for Startup Award 2019

Patents 5 Patents

2.3.3 Promotion of Education through Skill Development

The CZC participants have received skill-based training on key aspects of business

development and entrepreneurship through seminars, training workshops and direct

interaction with subject experts. Notable efforts are:

▪ Half-a-day Workshop on Product development and Idea-to-market in July 2017.

▪ Webinar on entrepreneurial journey by Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala (Chair Professor, IIT

Madras) and Mr Raghuttama Rao (CEO, GDC, IIT Madras) in October 2018.

▪ Training webinar series on Customer Discovery by Dr Hiran Vedam (Steering

Committee Member, CZC) in October 2018.

▪ 2-day Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at IIT Madras with best professionals covering

modules on customer validation, go-to-market strategy, product development, cost

structure, revenue models and pricing, designing business model and pitching the

business in January 2019.

▪ Webinar on “Evaluating Environmental Effectiveness of Products and Services” by

Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan (Founder & CEO& Eco-Catalyst Inc.) in March 2019

▪ Webinar series on “Assessing Impact Of Early-Stage Climate And Cleantech

Startups” by Ms. Jui Joshi (Program manager for Climate Launchpad, South Asia) in

March and April 2019

▪ Webinar on “Intellectual Property and you” by Dr. Hiran Vedam (Steering Committee

Member, CZC) in March 2019

10

3 Water Pollution Management Entrepreneurship Competition

Based on our experience running CZC 2018 and CZC 2019, we propose a pan-India

competition focused on water pollution management to identify student teams and early stage

start-ups with the specific objective of nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in this very

critical area. The program will identify 5 promising start-up teams and provide them financial

support of up to ₹ 5 lakhs each to build their prototype. In addition, we will provide training

and mentoring ensure that the teams we support during the competition reach the market and

do not fall into the “valley of death” between the basic prototype and market adoption. The

best performing team overall will receive an addition ₹ 10 lakhs award to take their

innovation closer to market.

3.1 Fund Requirements The total funding requirement the competition is ₹ 64 lakhs. The budget breakdown is given

below:

Item

Budget (in Lakhs

INR)

Project staff 8

Funding to teams (Rs. 5 Lakhs for 5 teams) 25

Website development, launch, promotion, marketing outreach 5

Mentors, Jury, Faculty (inc travel, accomodation, honorarium) 5

Events (inc. Demo day) 5

Testimonials from CZC Training Bootcamp 2019

“It was an awesome experience

with all of u.

We learned many new things in

the boot camp. Boot camp was

very well organized and all

sessions were very informative.

We feel very resourceful and

confident after the boot camp.

Thanks to IIT M and CZC for

providing us such a wonderful

opportunity.

Hoping to see all of u soon”.

- Team Lightweight Ceramic,

ICT Mumbai

“Being from technical

background we have very little

knowledge of doing business.

Bootcamp was a great exposure to

us. We have learned a lot from the

bootcamp”"

- Team Enviraj

Gwalior

Thank you, for the boot camp

training. The last session on

elevator pitching and the canvas

handout was highly beneficial to

us. We followed that handout and

we have developed a valuable

connect.

The training has helped me

explore the networking skills and

create my own network of people.

Thanks to CZC for this effort that

has helped us to nurture this

knowledge.

-Team FreshUnn

Technologies

Chennai

11

Award Money (1 Prize) 10

PI Compensation 1

Contingency 2

IIT Administrative Expenses (5% of total) 3

Total 64

*there may be need for reallocation between the above mentioned heads during the

course of the project.

Annexure A: CZC Leadership& Advisors

CZC Leadership Team

Dr.Indumathi M Nambi

Professor, Civil Engineering

IIT Madras.

CZC Advisors

Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala Chair Professor,IIT Madras

Dr. Mahesh Panchagnula Professor & Dean IAR,IIT Madras

Mr Raghuttama Rao CEO, GDC,IIT Madras

Mr Pradip Subramaniam Founder & CEO,

Growwtech Innovations, Bengaluru

Dr R. Brakaspathy R&D Advisor, IIT Madras

Dr Srikanth Rajan

Co-President, Keiretsu Forum, Chennai Chapter

Mr. P Senthilnathan CTO Findmeashoe Former Board Member,IITM IC

Dr. Sriram Krishnan Director, National Grid, Boston,

USA

Mr. Sivaraman K Advisor - Projects, IWMA, Chennai

Dr Hiran Vedam

Senior Advisor, IIT Tirupati

Annexure B:Prototypes by CZC 2018 Cohort

Annexure C: Prototypes by CZC 2019 Cohort

Annexure D: Selected CZC 2019 Press Coverage

❖ https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-2018-winning-

projects-html-1359430-2018-10-10

❖ https://www.ndtv.com/education/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-attracts-participants-

from-students-startups-1881576

❖ https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-

attracts-participants-from-students-start-ups-and-entrepreneurs-1282660-2018-07-11

❖ http://skilloutlook.com/education/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-attracts-participants-

from-students-start-ups-and-entrepreneurs-across-the-country

❖ https://www.ucnews.in/news/IIT-Madras-Carbon-Zero-Challenge-Attracts-Participants-

From-Students-Startups/1496336458478156.html

❖ http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Young-Hans/2018-07-15/IIT-Madras-CZeroC-

attracts-participants-across-country/398358

❖ http://newswave.co.in/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-goes-national.html

❖ http://www.uniindia.com/on-world-environment-day-iit-m-launches-2nd-carbon-zero-

challenge/states/news/1251929.html

❖ https://www.netindia123.com/articles/showdetails.asp?id=3359907&n_date=20180605&

cat=Indi

❖ https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/2018/06/06010022/1075036/IITs-environmentfriendly-

competition-goes-national.vpf

❖ https://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20180605/3359907.html

❖ http://skilloutlook.com/education/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-goes-national-in-its-

second-edition

❖ https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/skill+outlook-epaper-

skillout/iit+madras+carbon+zero+challenge+goes+national+in+its+second+edition-

newsid-89470510

❖ https://www.energyoutlook.net/news/asia/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-goes-

national-in-its-second-edition/

❖ http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/aug/05/iit-madras-carbon-zero-

challenge-invites-applications-1853522.html

❖ http://www.eqmagpro.com/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-invites-applications/

❖ https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-carbon-zero-challenge-

attracts-participants-from-students-start-ups-and-entrepreneurs-1282660-2018-07-11

❖ http://indiaeducationdiary.in/iit-madras-launches-second-phase-carbon-zero-challenge/

Selected CZC 2018 Press Coverage

❖ https://indiaeducationdiary.in/iit-madras-teams-bag-two-top-five-honours-carbon-zero-

challenge/

❖ http://www.iwma.in/media/Times-of-India---Team-U-Farm-Technologies.pdf

❖ https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/iit-teams-solar-powered-

system-can-convert-plastic-into-fuel/64492210

❖ http://www.newsnation.in/science-news/iit-madras-scientists-develop-solar-powered-

technology-that-can-convert-plastic-into-fuel-article-197098.html

❖ https://www.jagran.com/news/national-iit-madras-has-created-a-mechanism-to-make-

fuel-from-plastic-waste-18052118.html

❖ https://www.dailythanthi.com/News/State/2018/06/08014222/Chennai-IIT-Students-

achievement.vpf

❖ https://www.newsbytesapp.com/timeline/India/24466/111465/solar-powered-system-can-

convert-plastic-into-fuel

❖ http://menafn.com/1096976517/IITMadras-teams-solarpowered-system-can-convert-

plastic-into-fuel

❖ https://www.thebetterindia.com/144733/iit-madras-students-turn-plastic-waste-into-fuel-

using-solar-power/

❖ http://www.dnaindia.com/science/report-iit-team-s-solar-powered-system-can-convert-

plastic-into-fuel-2622983

❖ https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/iit-team-s-solar-powered-system-

can-convert-plastic-into-fuel-118060700505_1.html

❖ https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/iit-team-s-solar-powered-system-can-convert-

plastic-into-fuel-1252847-2018-06-07

❖ https://www.thebetterindia.com/144733/iit-madras-students-turn-plastic-waste-into-fuel-

using-solar-power/

❖ https://telanganatoday.com/iit-teams-solar-powered-convert-plastic-fuel

❖ https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/130618/iit-m-researchers-

double-the-joy-make-fuel-oil-from-plastic.html

❖ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSeNZz5aIxk

❖ https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/going-the-tech-way-to-solve-

environmental-problems/article22487091.ece