2020: The year of Innovations for India

Even though life came to a grinding halt across India since the emergence of Coronavirus early this year, there were some who kept the nation moving. In fact, India even climbed 4 spots to reach the 48th rank and made to the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index. Have are some innovations that made headlines in 2020. Read on...

First Published Dec 31, 2020, 3:13 PM IST

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DRDO's automatic sanitiser & UV devices

Defence Research and Development Organisation introduced two new technologies to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. These included an automatic mist-based sanitiser for use while entering public places and hand-held ultraviolet devices capable of destroying the genetic material of Coronavirus.

IIT Roorkee's Nano-coating mask, Prana Ventilator

IIT Roorkee, which was adjudged 'The Most Innovative Institute of the Year 2020' by the CII came up with products like the masks, PPEs and other protective gears with antimicrobial nano-coating, a low-cost portable mechanical ventilator called 'Prana Vayu', and a device that detects breast, oral, or lung cancer using exhaled breath.

National Education Policy, 2020

The Centre this year overhauled India education system. The last education reform had come in 1986. That alone makes the NEP 2020 a much necessary re-imagination of the Indian education system.

Bricks from discarded PPE kits

Popularly known as "The Recycle Man of India", Binish Desai created eco-friendly bricks out of PPE kits and masks made from non-woven fabric to help decrease the burden on the environment. These bricks are water-repellant, fire retardant, and pest resistant.

Drishti: Pocket-sized sheet to recognise currency

Mani Teja Lingala and Mrudul Chilmulwar, both students from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, came up with 'Drishti'. This pocket-sized piece of sheet helps visually-impaired people recognise currency notes. The technology is simple and does not use braille.

'Mind-reading' headset

MIT graduate Arnav Kapur designed an AI-enabled ‘mind-reading’ headset and the invention was named as Time's 100 Best Inventions of 2020 in November. The device will be a boon for those people who have communication problems like cerebral palsy, ALS. The device will help them communicate with the computer, without saying a word.

'COVSACK': COVID-19 sample collection kiosk

Developed by the DRDL, Hyderabad for healthcare professionals, the kiosk is automatically disinfected without the need for human involvement, making the process free of infection. After the patient leaves the Kiosk, four nozzle sprayers are mounted in the kiosk cabin & disinfectant mist is sprayed for a period of 70 seconds. It is further flushed with water and UV light disinfection.

Low-cost 'Ruhdaar' ventilator

'Ruhdaar ventilator' is the creation of a team of engineering students from IIT Bombay, NIT Srinagar and Islamic University of Science & Technology in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. The students came forward in April 2020 to solve the problem of ventilator requirement in India. The team had come up with a low-cost ventilator named 'Ruhdaar ventilator' using locally available materials.