Polluting units beware: A sensor could nail you

The three innovators, Siddharth Singhal, Rahul Sud and Kumar Ankit, calling themselves 'DCEites', have come out with 'Jal', a software to be deployed at sewer networks in polluted areas that would provide an accurate indication of the quantity of pollutants emitted by each industry. "Using algorithmic sensors, one can guage the source of pollutants every 2-3 seconds.

The device would help evaluate the time periods when pollutants are discharged on any given day, " said Ankit. Apart from pitching in the sensors to environment groups, corporate houses and government bodies involved in environment conservation, the group plans to collect data and sell it to those interested.

The inspiration behind the invention is the Yamuna Action Plan, implemented for water pollution abatement and conservation of the river Yamuna, by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD), Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of the Government of India in 12 towns of Haryana, 8 towns of Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.

The concept was one of the innovations recognised under the Imagine Cup, a competition organised by Microsoft in association with Nasscom and the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).