Feedback & Testimonials

I, Pratik Debnath from NIT Durgapur came to know about RuTAG from the seminar I attended in my college, where Prof. S. K. Saha told us about this initiative. I have also noticed some rural problems in the surroundings of my native village, which can be solved by engineering approach. It is an engineer's job to solve these problems. I am very blessed to get this opportunity to contribute to the society as an engineering student through this internship.

                                                                               Pratik Debnath, 4th Sem, Mechanical, NIT Durgapur

 

 

 

I am a 6th semester in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NIT Durgapur. Currently I am doing internship at RuTAG IIT Delhi about which I came to know when Prof S. K. Saha held a seminar in our college about RuTAG. There was one line in the PPT that “let’s design for 95% population”, because all innovation taking place in this new era generally benefit only 5% of population. So, come together and let’s design for other 95% population. It should be made in India. For me, this statement is sufficient to provoke any engineer to join this great initiative. Today I am part of it as a student. I am really enjoying this internship because it demands innovation but not at the cost of its price.                                                                     

  Aman Kumar Rai, 6th Sem, Mechanical, NIT Durgapur

 

 

 

When I attended the seminar on RuTAG held at our college by Prof. S. K. Saha, I was greatly inspired by his words as he told us how the daily life problems of rural area almost get ignored and we, as engineers, should take the responsibility. I always had a thought in my mind to do something good for our people in rural areas and I just found a way to do so. I am very grateful to RuTAG team for giving me this opportunity to be a part of RuTAG internship project and I will do my best to help the team with the project. 

                                                                                             Roshan Kumar, 4th Sem, Mechanical, NIT Durgapur 

 

 

It was a great honor to work under Prof. S. K. Saha, Prof. Sangeeta Kohli and Prof M.R Ravi who always encouraged, motivated, and helped me and have been very patient in explaining me everything. I would also like to thank the staff at RuTAG who have been very supportive and have always inspired me.

           Fazil Qazi, Intern RuTAG IIT Delhi, B.E Mechanical 3rd Year student, University of Kashmir, Srinagar

 

 

I was associated with the group through the project on Batasha setup under PI and my HOD Dr. Vinay Gupta. The project was a golden opportunity for me in all respect, be it contributing directly to the need of our rural society or working with one of the finest RuTAG in the IITs or getting a chance to meet myriads of people sharing a common goal albeit with different issues/problems. The project led us into a revelation of conditions the Batasha making people were suffering due to a traditional but poorly designed working methods. It was also a first for me to be interacting with a group of people directly for whom we have to come up with an apt process and equipment design, which instilled a sense of urgency as well as service. Weeks and months of brainstorming and after numerous design attempts, we finally came up with a 'modular multi rack table' design which satisfactorily catered to all the initial problem statements. The suggestions and guidance time to time from associated members of RuTAG helped us in achieving a modest success. The first conference of RuTAG in March 2018 arrived just in time for us to showcase our design and take home some very critical feedback which were later incorporated in the further design. It was also a first for me, first conference as a participant. Although the present design took a numerous testing and modifications to arrive at its present stage, it can still only be called the first step towards holistic solution to problems faced by the Batasha making people. It is good to know that even though a solution has been provided, the RuTAG is still researching upon the design for a better deliverable product.  Wishing all the best to RuTAG!                   

 

 

I was very fortunate that I got an opportunity to work under RuTAG for doing my internship over a period of almost two months, which proved very informative and productive for me. RuTAG helps to solve and provides the best solution to every rural problem in order to enhance their livelihood, and the innovations they make are very modernized, cheap, affordable and very easy to use that require less human efforts. During my internship at RuTAG, I came across the problems faced by the potters of Pahari village in Bharatpur, Rajasthan in which the livelihood of large population depends upon earthen articles. I came to know that their products are selling at a very less price. I, along with Mr. Yashwant Prasad tested, observed, and analyzed the samples and aimed at increasing strength of clay articles, enhance the efficiency of their pottery kilns. I made various arrangements in conducting the field testing and arranging the devices for the field test. I have also been a part of fabricating some of the testing devices by our own rather than buying them. In this regard, I got an opportunity to visit various places, vendors and learned a lot. In regard to Tulsi Mala Bead making device, I was lucky enough to see how machine parts were manufactured. I also gave a presentation in WeLD-R which boosted my inner confidence and I learned how to deliver in front of a crowd. For me, it was a very enriching experience at RuTAG as I was doing something for easing the problems of the society. 

                                                                                                                                Feedback by Fazil Qazi

 

 

 

India is a vast country with diverse economical environments and a perfect stage for technological advancements. In today’s world, the bright minds of the nation are competing globally with their latest innovations and groundbreaking high-tech technologies. But when it comes to the overall development of the country, focus must be shifted to the rural India for improving the rural economy and upgrading the livelihood of the rural people as 70% of Indians reside in the rural parts of the country. RuTAG plays an active role in catering to the needs of rural India by providing them with appropriate technological solutions. The RuTAG group, as a part of the unique initiative taken by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government of India in 2003-04, has a vision of providing demand driven technological solutions to improve the rural economy and livelihood. Recently, our team visited RuTAG IIT Delhi as a part of the research work during June 17-21, 2019. The learning was very much interactive, unique and thought provoking in terms of the whole process of technological intervention and product development which RuTAG follow. It was very interesting for us to know how RuTAG group goes through the whole process right from the beginning of acquiring demand driven problem statements from villages across India by conducting several workshops throughout the year involving several NGOs. It was an amazing experience to witness how a group of enthusiastic and motivated students along with the faculty from this renowned institute work dedicatedly to address the real life rural technological problems and brainstorm their way into finding effective solutions to these problems. The whole process is time consuming, iterative and faced with many challenges, but yet they are able to come up with effective solutions in terms of deliverable products in a cost-effective manner. We had an interactive session of presentations where our team discussed some unique ideas and interesting solutions to addresses some vital issues of technology dissemination and product life cycle management process for rural technologies. We look forward to work with this amazing team of RuTAG hand in hand for solving various rural technological problems in future. We are highly grateful to RuTAG IIT Delhi group and Prof. Subir Kumar Saha for accommodating us in his busy schedule and giving us the opportunity to witness how demand driven low cost technological solutions are being developed in their facility. We are hopeful that these low cost rural technological products will help to develop the Indian rural entrepreneurial mindset for a better economic and social growth of the country. Sanyka Banerjee, Jayshree Patnaik, Research Scholars, Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship                                                                     

 

 

I've been involved in various social service ventures over the past year, and RuTAG stands out among them. The reason being that RuTAG focuses primarily on technology to make lives easier for others, a job that can only be taken up by a technical institute. Being a part of the Street-Sizing Project, our team aims at designing a working model to reduce the efforts put into the process of street sizing at the village level leading to an increase in the number of individuals involved in the process. At the same time, we learn how such solutions are manufactured and implemented at an industry-level. 

 

 

 

We feel blessed to work with RuTAG IIT DELHI, especially working under the guidance of Professor Subir Kumar Saha is once in a life time experience for us, every time we meet him, we experience a kind of positive energy flowing into us, the way Prof. Saha interacts with us raises our spirits and boosts our confidence. We feel great to be associated with RuTAG IIT DELHI for the kind of work that is happening here for the betterment of society, working here is an entirely new experience. Our horizon got extended. We had observed significant changes in the way we think, act and approach to a problem. In fact, we were more inclined towards pursuing research, we would like to thank professor Saha for giving us the opportunity. 

 

 

हर युवा की तरह मेरा भी सपना था कि मैंआई आई टी जैसे देश के  सर्वोच्च संस्थान में शिक्षा प्राप्त करू और वह सपना पूरा हुआ सन 2009 में, जब मैंने आई आई टी दिल्ली के मैकेनिकल इंजियारिंग डिपार्टमेंट में एम टेक में दाखिला पा लिया। वहां पर अकिकतर युवाओं के मन में एक ही लालसा देखने को मिलती थी कि वे कैसे एक मल्टीनेशनल कम्पनी में नौकरी प्राप्त कर लें और हो सके तो विदेेश चले जाएं। चूंकि मैं मध्य प्रदेश के एक छोटे से कस्बे के एक मध्यमवर्गीय परिवार से आता था और धर्म एवं गरूओं से बचपन सेही लगाव रहा इसलिए मेरे मन में समाज के लिए कुछ करने का भाव हमेशा रहता था किंतु परिवार के लिए उचित धनोपार्जन करना भी आवश्यक था। चूंकि मैं अपनी थीसिस में प्रो. साहा के मार्गदर्शन में लिख रहा था तो मुझे रूटाग डिपार्टमेंट की जानकारी हुई और मैंने उसके कुछ प्रोजेक्ट में अपना योगदान देकर संतुष्टी का अनुभव किया। जल्दी से धनोपार्जन हो जाय इसलिए मैंने  डेलॉइट कंसल्टिंग  की नौकरी एवं लगभग  तीन वर्ष अमेरिका का प्रवास  स्वीकारा। इस सब के दौरान कुछ ज्वलंत  प्रश्र  लगातार मन में चलते रहते थे जीवन के मायने क्या हैं? इतने भागदौड़ करके क्या मिलेगा ? जिस समाज या राष्ट्र ने हमें इतना कुछ दिया और हम असहाय अवस्था में केवल समस्याओं का विष्लेषण कर रहे हैं। इन सभी प्रश्नों का उत्तर मेरे गुरु और जैन संत 108 श्री विद्यासागर जी महाराज का प्रेरणादायी जीवन की ओर दृष्टीपात करने से सहज ही मिल जाता।सनृ 2016 की गर्मीयों मे गुरुजी का सानिध्य पाकर मैंने अपनी नौकरी छोड़, आजीवन   ब्रह्मचर्य व्रत स्वीकार कर लिया। गुरुजी की भावना थी कि ग्रामीण युवा जो कि रोजगार हेतु  पलायन के लिए विवश हैं उनको गांवों में ही कुछ काम मिल जाए। अच्छे ढ़ग से अध्ययन करके पाया कि खादी/हथकरघा इस घनघोर समस्या का रामवाण इलाज है। बेरोजगारी के साथ अन्य कई समस्याओं का निराकरण इससे संभव है इसलिए कुछ अन्य सक्षम युवाओं की टीम के साथ हथकरघा के प्रशिक्षण  केन्द्रों का संचालन करना प्रारंभ कर दिया। हथकरघा के माध्यम से हमनें तीन वर्षों में लगभग 500 युवाओं की उनके गांव/घर में उन्हें रोजगार मुहैया करा दिया। इनमें से अधिकतर युवा  रुपए 10 -12 हजार प्रति माह कमाने लगे और कुछ तो रुपए 25-30 हजार तक भी पहुंच गए। इस तरह भारतीय कलाओं और संस्कृति को जीवंत बनाए रखने के  साथ,श्रम पोषण करते हुए हम ग्रामीण युवाओं के माध्यम से अहिंसक वस्त्र  का निर्माण कराकर उसका विक्रय कर रहे हैं। इस प्रोजेक्ट के साथ एक दूसरा प्रोजेक्ट जिसका उद्देश्य गो पालन एवं जैविक खेती को बढ़ावा देना है 2017 के मध्य में प्रारंभ किया। पिछले दो वषो॔ में उस प्रोजेक्ट के माध्यम से लगभग 500 गौधन का पालन कर 120 एकड़ जमीन पर जैविक खेती की जा रही है और गौ-पालन के आर्थिक एवं सामाजिक पक्ष को सभी के सामने लाया जा रहा है। इन्हीं दोनों प्रोजेक्ट में आईआईटी दिल्ली के रूटाग डिपार्टमेंट के तकनीकी सहयोग के लिए पिछले दिनों बीना बारह ,सागर ,मध्य प्रदेश में एक बहुत सफल कॉन्फ्रेंस हुई। रूटाग की कुछ तकनीकों को हमारे यहां लगा लिया गया है आशा है परस्पर सहयोग से  ग्रामीण तकनीक को नए आयाम मिलेंगे।

 

 

 

“હ ું "થર્મલ એનાલલલિિ ઑફ બેંગલ ર્ેલ ુંગ ફનેિ" પ્રોજેક્ટર્ાુંપ્રોજેક્ટ નેતા હતો. અર્ેચાર િભ્યોના જૂ થ હતા. ર્નેરુટા ક્લબ આઈઆઈટી લિલ્હી ખાતેખૂબ જ ભણતર અન ભવથયો હતો. ર્નેપ્રોફેિરો િાથેનજી થી વાતચીત રવી પડી અનેગ્રાર્ીણ લો ોનેખરેખર ફાયિો થયો તેવી િર્સ્યાઓ પર ાર્ રવ ુંપડય ું. લિવાલના તાપર્ાન અનેહવાના પ્રવાહના િર નક્કી રવા ર્ાટેર્ેટૅર્ેલટ લ ર્ોડલ (ર્ેટલાબર્ાું ોડેડ) લવ િાવવા ર્ાટેર્ારુું ાયમહત ું, આખરેલર્ ેલન લી લડઝાઇન રેલ ભઠ્ઠાર્ાુંલસ્થરતા નક્કી રવાન ુંનક્કી ય ું. ર્ોડેલની તૈયારી પૂણમ યામપછી, ર્નેભૂજ ખાતેપ્રોફેિર િાથેની એ ક્ષેત્રની િફર ર્ાટેલઈ જવાર્ાુંઆવ્યો હતો, જ્ાુંર્ેંભઠ્ઠાર્ાું ાર્ રવાન ુંજોય ુંહત ુંઅનેર્ારા ોડના વ્યવહાલર ઉપયોગર્ાુંિર્સ્યાઓ િર્જ્ા હતા. તયાુંનાપ્રોફેિરોએ ર્ારા શું ાઓનેિાફ યામઅનેર્નેર્ારા ાયમની એ ર્ોટી લચત્ર પ્રાપ્ત રવાર્ાું િહાય રી. ર્નેRUTAG ોન્ફરન્િર્ાું પણ હાજરી ર્ળી હતી જ્ાું િર્સ્યાઓ િાથેચચામ રવાર્ાુંઆવી હતી અનેતયારબાિ પ્રોફેિર દ્વારા ાયમની પ્રાધાન્યતા પર િૉટમ રવાર્ાુંઆવ્ય ુંહત ું. વ્યવહારુ એલલલ ેશનનેજાણ્યા પછી, હવેહ ું વધ ર્ૂળભૂત સ્તરેિર્સ્યાઓ િર્જી શ ું છ ું અનેજાણ ુંછ ું

 

 

“I was the project leader in the project “Thermal Analysis of Bangle making Furnace”. We were a group of four members. My experience was very learning at RUTAG Club IIT Delhi. I got to interact closely with professors and got to work on problems that really benefitted rural people. My work was to develop a Mathematical model (coded in Matlab) for determining the wall temperatures and air flow rates from various windows and chimney ultimately determining the sustainability of the mechanically designed furnace. After completing the model preparation, I was taken for a field trip at Bhuj along with professors, where I saw working of the furnace and understood the problems in the practical application of my code. Professors over there cleared my doubts and helped me get a bigger picture of my work. I also got to attain the RUTAG workshop where the problems were discussed alongside with rural artisans and then sorted by the professors on the priority of work. Further after knowing the practical application, I now understand the problems at a more basic level and know what people want as a product which also makes a good opportunity for a start-up.”

 

 

Journey for a Decade

 

My Experience

I have been a part of the group for the last one year and did a project regarding problem related to stone mine workers of Rajasthan. I have been a part of a survey of stone mines in Karoli district of Rajasthan and have communicated directly with workers which helped me to understand the problem thoroughly. Then after, me, as a part of the team of three students attempted the solution for workers. Through the course, I learned problem solving skills and became more sensitive towards the problems of society. Professor Subir Kumar Saha (coordinator of RuTAG club) was very encouraging and motivating for me through my way of one year. After being a part for just one year, I am feeling joyful and more aligned with the vision of the RuTAG club and want to take our endeavour to a journey of whole India.

 

My Opinions 

Last two or three decades have seen rapid industrialization across the globe, and in India industrialization led rapid urbanization which transferred focus of all institutions towards problems centered in the urban areas, and the rural areas remained neglected. As we all know, today, most of Research & Development (R&D) expenditure of private firms goes in regard to solve issues of urban areas and to maintain or improve living standards of urbansocieties. If we see rank of India in global innovation index provided by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), it is the 51st across the globe which shows an ample scope in diffusion of technology throughout India. Keeping these considerations, we as a group are motivated to flourish our rural societies. We are motivated to create a techno-friendly environment which will ensure role of technology in human development. We see the technology as the fruit which must be delicious to each strata of unequal society. Why must only an economically strong section utilizes this fruitful instrument to solve their problem? Why living at the same point of time, we have been discriminately distributing benefits of technology? These are some ethical questions which are confronted by humankind and we are resolute to answer them. There is a need to create a social and technical awareness and develop scientific temperament by manifesting technical solutions to the problems faced by economically weaker sections in their day to day life. After completion of one fruitful decade we are still not in a strong position to change the locus of nation’s concern. So, we must endeavour by organizing various competitions all over India and by continuing our expansion in IITs and other eminent institutions of the country. There were strong attempts in diffusion of technology, but I shall say that “legacy still has to be created” for diffusion of technical benefits to different strata of society. 

 

 

We are a team of students working as a part of Purdue University’s EPICS program. We are currently collaborating with RuTAG IIT Delhi to create a design for a bullock driven tractor which will aid rural farmers in India. We started this project as a way to not only build a strong relationship between IIT Delhi and Purdue, but also to make a difference in the quality of life of struggling farmers in India. Through our collaboration with the RuTAG group, we have discovered that we need to improve the design of an existing bullock driven tractor in three main ways:  - By creating a consistent, and mechanically simple mechanism for lifting farming attachments which will allow the tractor to make turns without draining the bullock’s energy.  - By designing wheels which will allow the tractor to drive across multiple different surfaces since currently the tractor struggles to plow through clay or wet soil. 

- By improving the overall ergonomics of the tractor via improvements to sitting condition over the course of long-term usage. We are currently coming up with design ideas for creating an efficient lifting mechanism for farming attachment by pulling inspiration from simple machines such as levers, pulleys, and gear systems. We are able to make great progress on our project with the assistance of the RuTAG group, and their invaluable feedback and critique. The whole experience our team has had working with the RuTAG group thus far has been overwhelmingly positive due to their responsiveness, expertise, and support. We are excited to continue our relationship with the RuTAG group and IIT Delhi and provoke real change throughout India. 

 

 

An M. Tech student after getting a job in Tata Motors in Jan. 2012: Ms. Jyoti Bahuguna

Subject Re: Comment on RuTAG and paper for ASME conf.

Sender Jyoti Bahuguna

Recipient saha <saha@mech.iitd.ac.in>

Date 15.01.2012 23:43

 

Hello sir,

The interview was completely technical. It took about 35- 40 minutes. They asked about the project of B.Tech, M.tech. Main focus was on 'how you can apply your knowledge of M.Tech project in Tata Motors'. They asked a number of questions related to this..but not a single one from book. and at the end they said though you are good in robotics but we are not looking for the robotic expertise. This was the turning point. i asked so what are you looking for?? they answered - PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. As a reply i said "as you said i am good at robotics but that doesn't mean i don't know how to develop a product." They immediately asked me to justify this.i told i am working on some extra project under the same guide. We are a team of 4-5 people and we work on weekends. These projects are mainly for the rural development. One is the design and analysis of Animal driven prime mover. Then they asked any other project?i said recently we have got an project on 'Carpet loom Design' from Ministry of Textile. The government has decided to give about 20000 looms to some places of U.P. and Jharkhand like Mirjapur and Bhadoi on subsidy basis. So they want us to check their design and let them know whether the design is safe or not. then they asked me to draw the loom, and asked how u will design the beam. Basically they were interested in knowing how you will convert a real life problem to a standard problem of 'a beam under some load' .They asked me to draw the beam...Then they asked why that type of loading and boundary conditions... I answered and they said 'Good'...with this the technical interview was over. After this we discussed about the joining place etc..

 

CONCLUSION:

RuTAG project helped me a lot to fetch this job. Basically in converting their 'No' to 'Yes'. As per my experience if anyone indulge oneself in such projects, one learns how to utilize the knowledge what has been learned in class in solving real life problems. These projects has taught me the very basic but the most important tool of design i.e.modelling a problem on the basis of loading and boundary conditions. Moreover it gives a satisfaction of doing at least something for your own people using what you know....It takes just a few hours of your week and returns a lot.