India is the second most populated country in the world. The majority of people in rural areas still lack access to basic necessities like clean drinking water and electricity among others.
However, there are some inventions that can drastically change their lives.
One such invention is the world’s cheapest water purifier built by an engineer that costs Rs 30.
Karnataka’s Niranjan Karagi has designed the compatible, reusable, healthy and portable water purifier that removes 99 per cent bacteria and other water contaminants.
He built NirNal after looking at the plight of some school students drinking water from an unpurified tap.
NirNal is crafted from activated carbon, cotton and mesh in a plastic-like covering. The water filter can easily be fitted into any pet bottles.
Karagi built his prototype in three months. The funds required for his start-up were acquired from Deshpande Foundation in Hubli, along with a token amount from his parents.
Once the product was manufactured on a larger scale, he went from school to school in rural areas to demonstrate the product and generate some revenue.
Later, NirNal received a grant worth Rs 20 lakh from the Karnataka government, after which the startup began to receive orders from the Central Reserve Police Force.
When the product went viral, the company started exporting the same to at least 15 countries, including the US, Qatar, Singapore and Malaysia.
Over the past couple of years, Karagi has updated the technology and now his portable device can not only remove about 99 per cent bacteria from the water but also filter up to 300 litres of water.
The creative mind has won many awards, including the Best Entrepreneur Award by Visvesvaraya Technology University (2017) and the Yuva Shilpi Award by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
The social impact of NirNal has been significant, with over 2 lakh units of the product being sold.
With this innovation, Karagi aims to eradicate the problem of lack of clean drinking water and improve rural life.
NirNal is now working towards a project that will convert saline water from the sea to clean drinking water.
