Innovators at Rashtrapati Bhavan look at road ahead

Their efforts at innovation have earned a group of five individuals a 20-day stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan and now, instead of resting on their laurels, the innovators say they are looking forward to taking their mission further to serve the country.
The innovators who arrived at Raisina Hills on July 1, have worked in diverse areas directly related to day-to-day life including preservation of banana leaves for over two years and developing an under-garment aimed at helping women to ward off sexual offenders.
With the platform provided by Rashtrapati Bhavan, the innovation scholars, who are already a week into their sojourn, are keen to work on making their products "commercially viable" and "available to the masses".

Excited about receiving the personal attention of the President, 16-year-old Tenith Adithyaa says, "Being in this compound is already very encouraging for us. I am looking forward to the meetings with the ministries concerned to develop my innovations further."
Adithyaa has developed a technology for preserving banana leaves for over two years without using any chemicals. The technique increases the durability, temperature resistivity and weight-bearing capacity of the leaves without affecting its natural colour.
It is an eco-friendly technology useful for making various items like plates, cups, bags, boxes, packaging wraps, containers and covers.

Another innovator, Manisha Mohan (21), who has developed an 'assault-repellent' under-garment says the programme is providing her with insights into the difference between 'research' and 'relevant research'.

"I am exploring certain opportunities for evolution of my product and working on details to make it commercially viable. The practice of brain drain in our country has always been the concern of experts. Such an initiative to recognise the innovations by the President himself is good news for the youth of the country," Manisha told PTI.
A final year student of Automobile Engineering at SRM University, Manisha has developed an under-garment which aims to protect women from assault by sending a 3,800kW shock to the attacker.
"The idea of developing such a bra was the outcome of fear and rage which I felt after the December 16 gangrape case in Delhi. The case sent shivers down the spines of girls like me and I am sure of girls across the world, but they must have been as clueless as I was," she said.

"May be you are carrying a pepper spray or knife, but what if you don't get the opportunity to use it when attacked? That is when I decided that we need a product which automatically responds to the attempt," she added.