IIT Kanpur seed funds Lucknow-based social start-up

Decentrik Technologies developed mobile drinking water unit

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) has sanctioned seed funding of Rs 50 lakh for a Lucknow-based start-up, Decentrik Technologies.

Helmed by Vineet Vats, the company is working towards providing a simple and inexpensive solution to drinking water needs of the people on the move.

The funding flows through Innovative Ventures and Technologies for Development (INVENT) platform, a joint collaboration of the Centre's Technology Development Board (TDB) and the Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom.

Through INVENT, IIT-K targets to incubate 40 technological social start-ups with Rs 50 lakh being the maximum amount that can be offered as seed funding.

The company has come up with Mobile Water ATMs 'Waah', which are portable units to dispense drinking water for as little as Rs 2 for 250 ml. Decentrik has tied up with Indian Oil to install stationery RO units at their petrol pumps.

Each Waah unit comprises separate water and glass dispenser slots. Each unit also has two Real Time Displays to display TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) level in the water and the temperature of the water. If there is any breach or malfunctioning, the unit automatically shuts down and sends an error report to the cloud application.

The innovators claim the technology would cut down on the damage to environment caused by plastic packaged water bottles.

The glasses used in Waah are made from food-grade recyclable paper, thus preventing approximately 1,500-3,500 kg of plastic waste generated from these store-bought disposable water bottles, Vats added.

Each Waah unit has an electronic lock to prevent unauthorised refills. Since these units have to travel only short distances for refilling of water, an estimated 700 kg of carbon dioxide emissions will be avoided, every year.

SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Centre (SIIC) at IIT-K, one of India's leading technology business start-up incubators, has been in operation since 2001 and has provided incubation support to more than 65 start-up companies.