Category Archives: Green Products

Innovative equipment, approaches put Dr Gazala Habib’s air pollution research into top gear

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), ,

Raipur, CHATTISGARH:

Her work pinpoints the sources of aerosols and their role in driving regional climate change in India, besides equipping the Ministry of Environment with the right knowledge regarding policymaking.

Dr Gazala Habib never imagined she would be a scientist one day. She recalls entertaining the idea of becoming one while watching the 1969 Bollywood spy thriller Yakeen at her home in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, but the moment was short-lived. 

In the movie, Dharmendra plays a swashbuckling scientist who battles everything from enemy agents to his own doppelganger as part of a secret mission to save the country. “As much as I wanted to be like him, I also knew that it was out of the question. I came from a small town and a very conservative background, and had not heard of any woman scientist growing up,” says Dr Habib, now 49. 

Eventually, Dr Habib did get to live her childhood dream. A professor at the Department of Civil Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), her work focuses on measuring air pollutants, particularly aerosols, in ambient air using innovative equipment and approaches.

Innovative equipment, approaches put Gazala Habib's air pollution research into top gear - PUNE.NEWS
Dr Habib set up and heads the Aerosol Research and Characterization Laboratory at IIT Delhi

She also set up and heads the Aerosol Research and Characterization Laboratory at IIT Delhi, which undertakes cutting-edge research on sources of aerosols and their impacts on human health. “We strive to fill up the significant gaps in our understanding of personal exposure to particulate matter [PM] in urban areas. This will assist policymakers to better measure the impacts and inform policy initiatives,” she explains.

Dr Habib says only limited studies on PM have been conducted in India, and that too mostly at one or two locations. “None of them provide an overarching assessment of human exposure in an urban context — integrating a variety of typical exposures across a typical day, and being useful in comparing different types of exposures throughout a person’s daily activity,” she details.

Much of the work has been carried out as part of the Emissions Inventory Building Activity under the National Carbonaceous Aerosols Programme-Carbonaceous Aerosol Emissions, Source Apportionment and Climate Impacts (NCAP-COALESCE), a multi-institutional research and capacity building initiative funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Dr Habib is the project incharge and coordinator in IIT Delhi for this programme.

“India does not have a uniform emissions inventory system [to measure total emissions from each pollutant from each sector]. The work under NCAP-COALESCE aims at equipping the Ministry of Environment with the right knowledge to aid sound decision-making on pollution policy,” she says.  

To that end, Dr Habib and a team of researchers have developed a Versatile Source Sampling System (VS3), which will measure emissions and help monitor pollutants. The compact unit allows air to be drawn through a preweighed filter at a known rate, thus collecting particles in the air on its surface. The filter is weighed again to determine the mass of particles collected, and by dividing the mass by the total volume of air, the particle concentrations can be measured.

In comparison with other air monitoring equipment, VS3 is more sophisticated, sensitive and capable of measuring emissions, particularly small particulate matter, from a variety of sources such as residential cooking stove, open biomass burning, brick kilns and vehicles. While the technology was developed in IIT Delhi, Dr Habib says it is being used across NCAP-COALESCE partner institutions to understand complexities related to carbonaceous aerosols.

Challenging the traditional mindset

By her own admission, Dr Habib’s journey into the scientific world was not easy. “My father was a telephone operator, and my mother a primary school teacher. I am one of the eight siblings. We did not have luxuries, but my parents, especially my father, prioritised our education,” she says.

Her parents were strict about school, but their expectations relaxed a bit when time for enrolling in college arrived. “There were people in my family who were like, ladkiyon ko zyada padhane ki zaroorat nai hai [there is no need to educate girls much]. At one point, my father also contemplated the idea of my marriage after BSc,” she says.

“They expected my brothers to do engineering, and thought I should do a science degree and start preparing for IAS. But I felt that my brother was more admired by my parents because he was inclined towards engineering. He is 10 minutes older than me, and I thought to myself, if he can do it, why not me?” she adds.  

With a little help from her brother, she managed to convince her parents to study engineering. Later, she gained admission to Bachelors of Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Raipur. Subsequently, she pursued MTech in environmental engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. 

Dr Habib’s earliest memories revolve around working with a large group to identify carcinogenic compounds present in emissions generated from burning crop waste in rural India

Rigours of research

Dr Habib believes destiny defined the trajectory of her career. “I was contemplating about PhD, when a junior directed me to a vacancy at IIT Bombay. I managed to apply just in time,” she says.

There were only two vacancies, and on account of a particularly gruelling panel interview, she recalls putting down her chances of selection as next to nil. However, she got selected. Her PhD mentor was Chandra Venkatraman, a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Climate Studies at IIT Bombay, who Dr Habib says “changed her way of thinking”.

“I was very shy and conventional. I remember telling her that I had never travelled alone. I told her I am not the girl who can go out and measure pollution,” she recalls. Venkatraman laid her apprehensions to rest, and Dr Habib eventually joined her mentor to work on a project analysing emissions from residential fuel sources. 

The five years at IIT Bombay groomed Dr Habib to become the scientist she is today.

“I remember I started work in January and she immediately put my name up for speaking at an international conference in October. I was from a Hindi medium background, and did not even know English! She taught me to make my first PowerPoint presentation and my first Excel sheet. She taught me not only science, but also communication. Whatever I am today, it is because of her,” says Dr Habib. 

Dr Habib’s earliest memories revolve around working with a large group to identify carcinogenic compounds present in emissions generated from burning crop waste in rural India

Her earliest memories revolve around working with a large group to identify carcinogenic compounds present in emissions generated from burning crop waste in rural India. “I learnt a lot from this group about how to collect samples, what kind of machines to use and how to use them,” she says. This was soon followed by her first international trip to France, where she got to work with Olivier Boucher, Director of Research, French National Centre for Scientific Research. 

The coursework was demanding, and added to that was the pressure to get married. “I think the rush to get women married is also why a large number of them end up dropping out of PhDs or giving up their careers,” she adds. After consulting Prof Venkatraman, Dr Habib decided to get married only after finishing her PhD, a promise she ended up keeping. 

The rigours of research eventually got to her and she remembers a point in her PhD when she became depressed. Her time at the University of Illinois, and then University of San Diego, for postdoctoral work, worsened things. “I felt lonely during my US stint, but rediscovered myself after frequenting a mosque based on a colleague’s advice,” she says.

Entry into academic sphere

In June 2008, Dr Habib joined IIT Delhi as an assistant professor. In November the same year, she got married.She was regularised in her post in 2010, and promoted as an associate professor in 2018. In March this year, she became a professor.

In the last 15 years, she has provided valuable data that helps understand air pollution better. For example, her team measured the impact of PM 10 and 2.5 particle concentration on mortality rates to assess that the numbers attributable to PM 2.5 particle concentration in Ghaziabad was 70% higher than Delhi.

“Exposure to PM has been recognised as a well known human health risk factor, however, its quantification for various regions, including India, is still not well established. In the last few years, we have undertaken many studies to help quantify this data by studying the impact of pollutants on different organs, including heart and lungs, as well as different demographic populations,” she says.

With respect to Delhi’s pollution problem, she says, “In the winters, we cannot stop talking about stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. If you read the source apportionment papers from Delhi, you will find that pollution due to stubble burning lasts only a few days. The long-term problem that we should be solving is suspension of dust from roads. From a personal exposure perspective, vehicles account for 20 to 30% of PM 2.5 concentration,” she says.

She believes having a policy on effectively managing crop waste is the need of the hour. “In a paper we recently submitted to Nature, we discovered that despite the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a majority of rural households still use fuel dung for energy. If they use crop waste for biogas generation in addition to cow dung, there is no need of pushing LPG down their throats. It will cost less also,” she adds. 

Dr Habib thinks funding needs should be simplified and freed from the shackles of bureaucracy for the research to contribute more effectively to policy.  Also, India should follow an integrated approach and make the data publicly available. “What we need is a network programme that brings scientists under one umbrella, gives them standard equipment, procedure and a common goal,” she says. 

“Source apportionment studies are being done in India by state Pollution Control Pollution Boards (PCBs) and Central PCB in non-attainment cities,  but there is no  national network. Every state is following its own rules — so methodologies, data analysis and data curation methods are different. Therefore, you cannot compare data from two cities,” she adds.

At present, Dr Habib’s focus is on setting up a state-of-the-art laboratory where all kinds of devices related to air pollution safety and monitoring can be evaluated for their performance

State-of-the-art laboratory

At present, Dr Habib’s focus is on setting up a state-of-the-art laboratory where all kinds of devices related to air pollution safety (like air purifiers, masks) and monitoring can be evaluated for their performance. “We have just received a grant from the Department of Science and Technology under SATHI [Sophisticated Analytical and Technical Help Institutes]. The laboratory will be developed at IIT Delhi’s Sonipat campus. At present, gate number 3 of IIT Delhi has such a facility,” she says. 

Dr Habib swears by the support of her husband, her 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. “There are creches and day care centres on campus now, but they were not available when I had children. I do not think I would have been able to manage it all without my husband,” she says.

She believes that for more girls to study sciences and mathematics in India, discrimination needs to end. “When you put differences in their minds from the beginning, they start believing they are weak,” she says, adding that true equality can be gauged from the representation women receive. “I am still the only woman in the room in most conferences. This needs to change.”

“I never thought I would be able to do this. I had this epiphany a couple of times that I wanted to be a scientist, but the guidance came from somewhere, somehow. It was all god’s plan I say, because I never planned this,” she sums up.

source: http://www.rukhmabai.com / Rukhmabai Initiatives / Home / by Shikha Sharma / August 28th, 2023

Zach Faizal’s Peec Mobility, BEEAH, SRTIP forge partnership for sustainable mobility in Sharjah

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Karnataka (under research project), NRI's / PIO's, Science & Technology, Transport, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

KERALA / Mangaluru, KARNATAKA / Dubai , U.A.E:

In a groundbreaking move toward sustainable transportation, BEEAH has officially entered into a strategic partnership with Peec Mobility and the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP).

The collaboration aims to revolutionize local electric vehicle production by repurposing end-of-life petrol vehicles, fostering recycling practices to support a circular economy, and driving research and skill development in the burgeoning field of sustainable mobility.

The partnership agreement, signed at the BEEAH Headquarters, saw the participation of key figures, including Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the American University of Sharjah and Chairperson of SRTIP; Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of BEEAH; Zach Faizal, Founder of Peec Mobility; and HE Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTIP.

Zach Faizal’s brainchild, Peec Mobility, has been at the forefront of innovation since its inception in 2022. The Dubai-based startup specializes in the repurposing of retired petrol vehicles, seamlessly transforming them into electric vehicles with a remarkable 30% cost reduction and an 80% decrease in manufacturing time compared to the production of new electric vehicles.

Faizal, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, envisions Peec Mobility’s technology as a game-changer for the region. He emphasizes that their re-engineering process offers a more cost-effective, quicker, and environmentally friendly transition to electric mobility than investing in entirely new electric vehicles.

“Today, re-engineering is quicker, smoother, and greener than buying new EVs, and proves cost-efficient,” Faizal stated during the announcement. “Peec’s vehicles are aimed to be priced at 30 per cent to 50 per cent lower with the volumes we’re looking at, thus solving the affordability challenge in the sector,” he added.

Peec Mobility’s focus extends beyond individual cars, with ambitious plans to repurpose entire fleets of ICE buses, cars, and trucks on UAE roads. Faizal believes in the efficacy of reusing existing vehicles, stating that “waste is minimized, and a new life cycle begins.”

The partnership seeks to support Sharjah’s transition to sustainable mobility while minimizing the environmental impact of the production and repurposing processes. The overarching goal is to contribute to national and global objectives for zero-waste, circularity, sustainable transport, and decarbonization.

Zach Faizal expressed his commitment to the cause, stating, “Conversion is the most pragmatic route to Net-Zero. Once we succeed with our business strategy here, we will take it to other countries to redefine the used-car market.”

As part of the collaboration, Peec Mobility and its partners plan to unveil the first lineup of repurposed mid-sized sedans and buses at the UN Climate Change Conference, showcasing the innovative technology and commitment to sustainable practices.

With the support of the government, Peec Mobility aims to implement the conversion at scale, creating a replicable model not only for the UAE but potentially for other countries. Faizal proposes a policy to repurpose 5.0% of existing vehicles on the road annually for the next seven years, aligning with the UAE’s Net Zero goal.

As of now, Peec Mobility is on track to introduce at least 500 repurposed EVs on Dubai roads by 2024, offering a tangible solution to the affordability challenge associated with electric vehicles.

Zach Faizal is the son of Faizal Kottikollon and Shabana Faizal, a well-known Indian entrepreneur couple based in the UAE. The couple is not only known for their business endeavors but also for their philanthropic contributions.

Shabana hails from Mangaluru in the Karnataka state of India. She is the only daughter of prominent businessman and socio-religious leader Late B Ahmed Haji Mohiudeen who founded the prestigious BA Group of Businesses in Thumbay near Mangaluru.

source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / December 13th, 2023

The migrant workers who keep the aquaculture industry alive

Business & Economy, Green Products, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , ,

INDIA:

Seafood production has become a globalised industry and many countries have seafood industries that are being buoyed by overseas migrant workers – hard-working people who left their home countries, and often their entire families, to seek their fortunes abroad.

Aslam Pathiri Originally from India, Pathiri is a passionate commercial finfish aquaculturist and researcher with 15 years of aquaculture experience in Asia and the Middle East

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that fishing and aquaculture employs over 60 million people globally. The seafood industry of the United States for example, which employs over 200,000 workers and contributes $38.5 billion to its gross domestic product, has a large share of Mexican, Vietnamese and Filipino workers. In 2017, New American Economy revealed that an astounding 62.8 percent of all seafood processing workers in the United States were immigrants. There are few hard figures available for fish farm workers but it is safe to say that immigrants comprise an increasingly large share of the workforce.

Because of their position, overseas migrant workers can more easily face tough conditions, ranging from loneliness and culture shock to language barriers and potentially unfair working conditions. Their respective experiences can range from the lavish heights of success to nightmarish experiences surprisingly close to medieval forced labour, as has been documented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on some unscrupulous fishing vessels.

However, the great majority of migrant seafood workers live largely normal and productive lives. To celebrate the importance of these unsung heroes – and to highlight the importance of treating all seafood industry workers fairly – The Fish Site talks to two seafood workers who have made good abroad.

Born and raised in India, Aslam Pathiri is a passionate commercial finfish aquaculturist and researcher with 15 years of aquaculture experience in Asia and the Middle East, while Carlo Dequina hails from the Philippines and has been working in the North American seafood industry for over seven years.

Carlo Dequina Growing up in the Philippines Dequina helped his parents sell dried seafood to friends and family – 30 years later he’s now a sales manager for Kvaroy Arctic, a family run salmon farm in Norway

How did you become interested in aquaculture?

Aslam: My passion for aquaculture grew while I was pursuing my master’s degree at Aligarh Muslim University in my home country of India. The abundance of freshwater bodies in our suburbs, coupled with the fact that they were not being efficiently farmed, ignited something of a spark in me. I eventually worked for the Kerala Ministry of Fisheries before flying off to Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to work with Mubarak Fisheries. I then moved on to different projects, including a corporate fish hatchery in Saudi Arabia; freelance consultation in India and the UAE; aquaculture research for a Saudi University; and, most recently, as the group production manager of Oceanpick in Sri Lanka.

Carlo: My interest in the seafood space started very early. My father was a sales manager for a pharmaceutical company in Panay, an island in the Central Philippines. He used to bring home various boxes of dried seafood to Manila, where our family lived. Mom and I would repack his boxes to sell to neighbours, friends, even my schoolteachers. The quality of dried seafood from the Panay region was universally well-known. I immigrated to the United States right after graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2003 with a degree in communications. I started in the aquaculture space as a salmon and fresh seafood buyer, working for International Marine Products (a seafood wholesaler) in Los Angeles and moved to Strand Foods (a seafood importer focused on high quality farmed products such as salmon from Scotland, bream and seabass from Cyprus and barramundi from Arizona). I recently joined the team at Kvaroy Artic, which farms salmon in Norway. I never thought that – 30 years after selling dried seafood with my parents – I’d be selling seafood on a much, much larger scale!

I believe there are countless opportunities – such as sales, farm work, marketing and logistics, as well as scholarships – where overseas workers can thrive and succeed.

What sacrifices might an overseas worker face?

Aslam: “Life begins at the end of our comfort zone”, said Neale Donald Walsh. Overseas workers who work over a quarter of a century abroad often lose the community touch back home and might suffer withdrawal syndromes and find difficulty fitting in. This sometimes leads to the loss of peace and happiness, even the loss of life itself in extreme cases. A good way to survive is to ignore the inadequacies, imperfections and weaknesses of your time served abroad while concentrating on the financial security gained, the level of knowledge produced and shared, the diversity of professional contacts made and the level of education extended to your children back home. In all my previous assignments, I always connected with people who shared my vision and interests, generating good results and creative solutions to challenges. I try to create the most congenial settings within and around me to ensure that my colleagues and I constantly work at ease.

Carlo: I think being away from family, friends and one’s typical way of life are among the biggest sacrifices one has to make in order to succeed in any international endeavour. Still, I believe there are countless opportunities – such as sales, farm work, marketing and logistics, as well as scholarships – where overseas workers can thrive and succeed.

Your homegrown skills will definitely get honed and raised to global standards on a transnational stage.

What advantages can overseas workers offer employers?

Aslam: Aquaculture farms are now integrating various disciplines and multinational capabilities. This kind of mutual empowerment generates better learning insights, cultural growth, collaborative intelligence and socio-economic safety. Having to work with diverse people and cultures can force us to fine-tune our skills, especially for multinational-level decision-making. Your homegrown skills will definitely get honed and raised to global standards on a transnational stage.

Carlo: I think the fact that English is a very dominant language in the Philippines as well as the level and standard of education we have back home contributes to the production of highly-skilled employees, managers and business owners. Filipinos have thrived in almost all industries – particularly because of our adaptability and willingness to learn, fit in and innovate in any space.

Kvaroy Arctic’s cages in Norway Carlo Dequina is the Western regional sales manager for this family-owned salmon farm based in Norway © Janita Zentano

Can you tell us about what you do?

Aslam: Over the past 15 years I have been an active consultant and troubleshooter, actively curating teething larviculture and nursing problems of tropical marine finfish. I am currently the general manager for the hatchery and grow-out operations of Oceanpick, Sri Lanka’s maiden sea cage fish farm, farming primarily barramundi. I am proud to say that we pioneered the South Asian initiative of commercial marine aquaculture. Our ocean-grown barramundi tastes second-to-none and is a healthy alternative to both chicken and red meat.

Carlo: I’m currently the Western regional sales manager for Kvaroy Arctic, a family-owned salmon farm based in Norway. Over the past three years, we’ve successfully promoted and built a reputation of consistency and high quality in the salmon space. I think that, in the future, knowledge from innovative companies such as Kvaroy Arctic can be transferred to aquaculture businesses in the Philippines, helping to someday lift our own tropical seafood portfolio to the world.

Aslam Pathiri inspects a shrimp farm in his native India Pathiri’s advice is to realise that it’s not always necessary to leave home, knowing you can “shine your light and serve your society anywhere, whether in distant lands or in your home village”

Any advice for future overseas aquaculture aspirants?

Aslam: I love sayings so allow me to end with one from Susan Young: “Connecting with others gives you a sense of inclusion, connection, interaction, safety and community. Your ‘vibe’ attracts your ‘tribe’ so if you want to attract positive and healthy relationships, be positive!” We should look at our future with clarity and optimism. Be a powerhouse of beliefs and values in everything you say and do. Cultivate a collective sense of purpose. Help influence, motivate and enable your peers while ensuring that knowledge is shared. Lastly, realise that you do not always need to leave home. Shine your light and serve your society anywhere, whether in distant lands or in your home village.

Carlo: “The advantage of working in aquaculture is that there will always, always be a need for seafood as a protein source for the world’s ever-growing population. The caveat to this is finding the right companies and programmes that champion raising seafood the right way so we don’t just look at our bottom line, but the larger picture where our planet’s resources are protected for future generations. To those looking to pursue their passion in aquaculture know that – as long as you stay true to your values and your work ethic – then there are companies that will take notice and provide you with the support to grow as aquaculture industry practitioners.

Ensuring equitable conditions for overseas migrant workers

To ensure that ethical and equitable business practices are adopted, certification standards, such as the Aquacultue Stewardship Council (ASC), are paying more attention to the overall welfare of seafood workers, plus the communities affected by seafood production activities.

Among these is strict adherence to fair wages, the abolition of child labour, elimination of discrimination, eradication of forced labour, freedom of association and the ability to have collective bargaining power without the constant fear of being deported. Farsighted fish farms and seafood processing facilities should read and incorporate these relevant measures.

Globalisation is continuously making the aquaculture field a smaller place through the fluid exchange of species, technologies, best practices and of course, talent. Although not everyone will have the same experiences, Aslam and Carlo are two of the millions of hard-working immigrants who have successfully made waves in farms, laboratories and seafood markets across the seven seas.

source: http://www.thefishsite.com / The Fish Site / Home> Media> Atlantic Salmon> Barramundi / by Jonah Van Beijnen and Gregg Yan / July 03rd, 2023

Kundapur: B Appanna Hegde agriculture award to be conferred on Asma Banu on Dec 24

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, Karnataka (under research project), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kundapur, KARNATAKA:

Kundapur : 

“Asma Banu, collector of seeds of various paddy breeds, helping in social and farming activities will be felicitated with B Appanna Hegde agriculture award during an award program on the birthday of religious leader and former MLA B Appanna Hegde on December 24,” said trust president B Rama Kishan Hegde.

He further said, “Asma who works saying that work is worship is collecting various paddy breeds that are on the verge of extinction from various states. She has collected and grown more than 840 varieties of paddy this year. She is conducting a study about those seeds and creating awareness about their benefits to health. She has been selected for the award considering her rare achievements.

“The award programme will be held by Basrur Appanna Hegde Prathistana in the premises of Sharada college, Basrur. Monetary help will be distributed to students, the sick and weak during the program.

“The award will be presented by Ishapriya Theertha Swamiji of Adamar math. Karnataka backward class commission president K Jayaprakash Hegde will preside over the programme,” he said.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Silveste D’Souza / Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (EP) / December 20th, 2023

How This Waste Collector In Bengaluru Is Making Entrepreneurs Out Of Ragpickers

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Karnataka (under research project), Uncategorized

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA:

How This Waste Collector In Bengaluru Is Making Entrepreneurs Out Of Ragpickers

Using technology and people management skills, read how Mansoor is making waste collection a well organized profession. Thanks to his efforts, Bengaluru now sees ragpickers with ID cards, fresh uniforms and better incomes.

Using technology and people management skills, read how Mansoor Ahmed is making waste collection a well organized profession. Thanks to his efforts, Bengaluru now sees ragpickers with ID cards, fresh uniforms and better incomes.

“The waste pickers’ community is very enterprising. If their entrepreneurial skills are channelized and steered in the right direction, they can work wonders,” says Mansoor . “Not only will this put fellow waste pickers on the right path of hard work and integrity, but it will also be an opportunity to include them in the mainstream economy.”

He believes that one man can only do so much to solve the garbage crises of the city. The idea is to involve the entire community in problem solving. On the one hand, Bengaluru citizens are keenly looking for a solution to the garbage menace, while on the other hand there is tremendous energy to be unlocked in the waste picker community who can come to their rescue.

“My father started as a scrap dealer around 30 years ago. ‘Segregation’ was an alien word then. However, he used to promote the practice like we do today. He is no more but I am inspired by him and want to do the same,” he says.

Mansoor, who operates the Dry Waste Collection Centre in ward 168 of Jayanagar in Bengaluru, is not just another somebody who manages the city’s waste, but a trained scrap dealer trying to bring about change much beyond his job description.

Thanks to Mansoor, ward number 168 is now emerging as a systematic waste collection system, with a team of collectors and sorters who ensure that the waste is responsibly recycled and not dumped in a land-fill.

“When I was a kid, I would help my parents in waste collection and sorting. We used to manage around 500 kgs of waste every month,” he remembers. Today, his vision is beyond just numbers.

Mansoor’s dream of better waste management and giving a better life to waste pickers went one step forward when he got associated with HasiruDala, a Bangalore-based NGO that works with the city waste pickers. They not only gave him the initial support but also helped him scale up with financial aid, when required.

Today, Mansoor has a team of 10 sorters & collectors at the Jayanagar Dry Waste Collection Centre. He manages the inventory of 10-12 tons of dry waste every month and sorts the same in 72 different categories before it goes for recycling.

Mansoor with his wife.
Mansoor with his wife.

But Mansoor does not stop just by adding value to waste. He also aims to make a scrap dealers’ cooperative which will play a role in creating a fair price marketplace, provide access to transparent data and geo-tag scrap dealers as the first point of sale for household waste.

He coined the brand name Clean City Recyclers Association (CCRA), and has MBA graduates assisting him in implementing his plans.

Reaching to this scale wasn’t easy for him. He had no stable source of income to support the operations or pay salary to the workers he had hired. HasiruDala came to the rescue and helped him stabilize operations. “Gradually, I got hold of things and today this centre is self-sustainable,” he says.

“Waste collection should not be considered as petty work. Thanks to HasiruDala, people don’t look down upon my work & have respect for what I do. HasiruDala has also provided ID cards to fellow waste pickers and a good uniform. It feels like we are all a part of something good.” he says.

Talking about the impact of his work, he has seen a tremendous positive change in the lives of the sorters and his team mates.

“People would sometimes be very careless while disposing the waste. They would mix wet and reject waste also in the dry category. This made our centre an unhygienic place to work. We later stopped collecting waste if it wasn’t segregated properly”.

Thanks to his hard work in spreading awareness, 75 percent of his customers are now segregating at source.

Dry waste collection centre.
Dry waste collection centre.

Apart from altering people’s mindset towards waste, Mansoor has made an impact in his work force as well. We learned that one of his new recruits, Arunachalam, who was a waste picker and an alcoholic, also had an unattended serious leg injury. From the day he has started working with the team, his condition has improved significantly, he earns more than what he used to and is now on a healthier diet towards recovery.

“Though I am still learning, I have realized that technology has a role to play. I Got Garbage team has developed android apps for managing our daily operations making it much easier than ever before. It helps us keep track of waste pick-ups, waste inventory and more,” says Mansoor.

Satyam Gambhir, client partner – Social Inclusion at Mindtree Ltd. adds, “At I Got Garbage, our focus is on waste picker livelihood and building solutions on the cloud platform that are repeatable and scalable. In Mansoor we see a long-term strategic partner, his unrelenting dedication and expertise has been instrumental.”

Mansoor is the chosen partner with I Got Garbage, a Mindtree initiative that positions waste pickers as recycling managers. I Got Garbage, along with Mansoor, is piloting a project ‘Donate Dry Waste’ in some parts of Bengaluru.

As Mansoor describes it, “Every waste picker will have a well-branded Rickshaw, a uniform and a smart phone, and will be put on-route to collect segregated dry waste from households and apartments.”

Mansoor segregates the waste in over 30 different categories.
Mansoor segregates the waste in over 72 different categories.

“Currently, waste pickers are at the end of the chain, scavenging for waste on the street. They venture out on roads during odd hours of the day in hope of getting sufficient waste to make ends meet. We intend to place them at the beginning of the waste supply chain, i.e. at the source, like your house and mine,” says Gambhir.

He envisions a day when waste pickers will turn into waste managers, collect segregated waste from households on a weekly basis in a uniform, and wants to formalize the same; and Mansoor plays an important role in making this happen.

Mansoor and his unique people management skills have enabled waste pickers to earn Rs. 9,000 to Rs. 12,000 per month, which is far more that what they do while working informally and scavenging on the street for recyclables.

With Mansoor’s amazing enthusiasm and willingness to see change in the society, we definitely hope to see the much ignored sector getting its due credit.

source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home> English> Bengaluru> Changemakers – Waste Management / by Shreya Pareek / February 19th, 2015

Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain: scientist who changed the course of TB diagnosis in India

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Education, Green Products, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Leaders, Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gaya, BIHAR:

Prof Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain

Prof Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain’s scientific research has changed the complicated regimen for the diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and the Indian Basmati getting its patent and trademark in the UK in the fight against the Pakistani variant. This Bihar-born scientists’ findings have saved patients suffering from Drug-Resistant TB money and time and helped the Indian government and farmers earn through exports of the Basmati.

He told Awaz-the Voice in an interview that the government of India has taken at least two major policy decisions based on his research. “One decision was that previously the testing of tuberculosis (TB) was based upon antibody-antigen reaction. So, the antibody formed was based on the antigen of a bacterial protein, and the sequence (genetic) used was mostly European or American isolates. 

“When I did sequencing in India, I found out that the Indian variant is completely different. Therefore, the test could give false positives or negatives…. I published this finding and had a meeting with the DG of ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) and recommended that the tests based on foreign kits be banned and that made a big impact.” 

The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting Padma Shri to Prof. Seyed E. Hasnain, renowned biologist, at an Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on March 29, 2006.

Padma Shri recipient Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain said. E. Hasnain was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the highest Civilian decoration of Germany in 2014. Nature, a famous scientific journal, reported on his receiving the award, “With the Order of Merit, he joins the league of outstanding personalities from various fields including Nobel laureate biologist Paul Herman Muller, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and music conductor John Crosby.” 

In 2006, he received Padma Shri in recognition of his scientific work. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1995) and J. C. Bose Fellowship (2006), two of the most prestigious Indian Awards in the field of science have also come his way apart from numerous other decorations.

Hasnain was born in Gaya, Bihar in 1954. He was born seven years after India had attained independence. At that time Bihar was not the most developed of the Indian states. Hasnain’s father was a college lecturer and he nursed a dream of studying abroad. He studied at the Nazareth Academy, an expensive school in the town. It’s said that almost 20% of his father’s salary would go into children’s school fees. 

He did his M.Sc. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. However, though he was selected for his post-graduation studies by Harvard University, for some reason he could not join.

In 1981, Hasnain moved to Canada as a Post-doctoral Fellow (PDF). He worked in Canada and the USA for the next six years. At this stage, his father asked him to return home to serve his country and people. He was advised by many people that he must try to get his green card before moving back to India. 


Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain with Dr Venky Ramakrishna, Nobel Prize Winner and President of Royal Society, UK, in Cambridge

In 1987, he joined the National Institute of Immunology (NII) as a scientist. Hasnain says, “I thought that after getting a green card, I would have a fall-back and a plan B. I did not want a plan B. My plan was the only plan A. I will work in India and do something good in India.”

Hasnain broke the convention by not continuing the research he was doing abroad. He started afresh and soon made a name for himself in research of baculoviruses. He established a baculovirus insect cell expression system (BEVS) for the first time in India and used this to express foreign genes and also to ask fundamental questions concerning gene expression in BEVS. The idea was to make India a scientific power.

Hasnain says that when his career was at the peak with research on baculovirus one day, Dr. Sandeep Basu, the then director of NII, asked him, “Seyed, you are publishing in good journals, it is fine, but how does humanity benefit? What is India gaining out of it? How are the common men benefiting from your papers? Doing research is good but do something which will benefit the common man.” 

This was the turning point in Hasnain’s life and career. He says “I decided to do something where I can do direct application.” He started his research on tuberculosis. 

Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain at the Global Health Conference organized by the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina, Halle, Germany

Hasnain initiated studies on molecular epidemiology and genetics of multi-drug resistant (MDR) M. tuberculosis (M.tb). He says, “second important observation that was published, again the first time in the world. We used to test TB for drug resistance. The bacteria was tested against each drug. I showed with my study that if the bacteria are resistant to one drug then it will be resistant to almost all other drugs. I established the correlation and proposed that you don’t need to do multi-drug resistance testing for all the drugs. Just test one drug rifampicin and if it is confirmed then 95%-99% of drugs will be resisted by the bacteria. That has become a standard treatment all over the world. He is still working on developing cheaper methods of diagnosing TB.

In 1999 Hasnain was invited as the first director of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad. It was based on his work on Indian Basmati Rice DNA fingerprinting that India won the Patent case against Pakistan enabling the export of the Indian Basmati to the UK. This prevented a major economic loss to India. Subsequently, the Ministry of Commerce established the CDFD-APEDA Basmati DNA Analysis Centre, where all Basmati exports are certified. 

Hasnain also served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad (2005-11), and Vice Chancellor of Hamdard University and is currently A National Science Chair of SERB, at the Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology at IIT-Delhi. 

Hasnain Mantra is: “Nothing is a substitute for hard work.”  

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Saquib Salim / November 03rd, 2023

India’s Millet Man Dr Khadar Vali says eating coarse grains is way to healthy life

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Leaders, Science & Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Purdadtoor Town (Kadapa District), ANDHRA PRADESH:

Dr Khadar Vali, the Millet man of India
Dr Khadar Vali, the Millet man of India

Coarse grains or millets are ancient foods which contain key nutrients like vitamins, zinc, beta-carotene, and magnesium. These foods keep blood sugar under control and reduce obesity. If one eats healthy food one can simply avoid disease and medicines.

This is the message from India’s leading agronomist Dr. Khadar Vali, who is also called the Millet man of India.

Dr. Vali is an independent scientist and food expert. He has brought back five species of millet that had disappeared from the world. Today, at 66 years of age, Vali is one of the leading proponents of millet cultivation in the world. He has made world realize the importance of grains.

Millets are available not only in India but everywhere in the world. These are known by different names in each country. To date, people around the world have eaten 200 different types of whole grains.

It’s important to note that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets at the insistence of India.

Khadar Vali says that the cultivation of millets can solve problems of soil erosion and irrigation also. The food we eat creates an imbalance in blood glucose levels. It makes people sick. But all this can be avoided if we use coarse grains. If you eat millet, you never need medicine.

He says it’s a misconception that coarse grains are food for animals and birds. He says these are super foods that can prevent disease as these contain fiber that cleanses the body. These grains protect the human race and other species. Millets are food for the whole planet.

Fox millet or Bajra

Dr Khadar Vali hails from Purdadtoor town in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. He has been working for 20 years to revive Sridhanialu, an Indian concept about food habits that are in sync with the nature and the human body.

Earlier, he worked in a good position in the USA. Dr Vali is a post-graduate from the Regional Institute of Education, Mysore, and did his PhD on Steroids from the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru.

Vali did his postdoctoral research on a fellowship in Environmental Science from the United States. His research focused on the inactivation of deadly chemicals such as Agent Orange and dioxins. His research came at a time when food was becoming increasingly commercialized.

Around 1986-87, Dr. Khadar Vali raised the issue of food-related consequences in society when he came across a case of a girl who started menstruating at the age of 6. He decided to return to his country.

He returned to India in 1997 and worked hard to revive five different varieties of millets in Mysore that were rapidly disappearing. More than two decades later, India’s ‘Milletman’ Dr. Khadar Vali was awarded the Padma Shri on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day celebrations.

awazurdu

Dr. Khadar Vali says that millet has long been part of the mainstream diet but over the past 75 years, corporations marketing rice and wheat have Institutions subjected them to “systematic destruction”.

He has told the world about the benefits of coarse grains along with the negative effects of other grains from his long research on millet. Some points of his research are as follows. His research on food grains has led him to categorized them as negative, neutral, and positive.

Negative: These Grains cause diseases and include paddy rice and wheat. The fiber content of these grains is below 2 percent.

Neutral: Grains don’t cause new diseases, however, can’t help to cure health disorders and diseases. These are jawar, bajra, finger millet, proso millet, etc which carry fiber content from 3 to 6 percent.

Positive: Grains, which help to cure health diseases and disorders. These are Foxtail millets, Barnyard millets, Browntop millets, Little millets, and Kodo millets; which have fiber content from 8 to 12 percent. He named these millets Siri Dhanyaalu. Siri means wealth, which is indirectly health. .

Based on Dr. Khadar Vali’s research and findings, below are the diseases and disorders cured by the positive millets (Siri Dhanyaalu)

 1. Foxtail Millet Rice: nervous system, psychological disorders, arthritis, Parkinson’s, epilepsy

 2. Kodo Millet Rice: blood impurities, anemia, weak immunity, diabetes, constipation, insomnia

 3. Barnyard Millet Rice: liver, kidney, excess bad cholesterol, endocrine glands

 4. Little Millet Rice: uterus, PCOD, male and female infertility

 5. Browntop Millet Rice: digestive system, arthritis, hypertension, thyroid, eye, obesity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the name Shree Anna to coarse grains.

The year 2023 was declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Coarse Grains, after which the Grammy Award-winning Indian-American singer Fallo prepared a song, saluting the efforts of Prime Minister Modi.

In one of his tweets, Fallow mentioned the Prime Minister’s support in producing the song. This song has been prepared with the aim of promoting coarse grains and helping farmers to cultivate them and encouraging efforts to eradicate hunger from the world.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Mansooruddin Faridi / October 07th, 2023

Pilgrim and the seven magical seeds that brought Arab coffee to shores of India

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, Karnataka (under research project), World Opinion

Chikkamagaluru, KARNATAKA:

India is home to 16 distinct varieties of coffee. (Supplied)
India is home to 16 distinct varieties of coffee. (Supplied)

India, the world’s sixth-largest coffee grower, on an average produces about 3.2 lakh tons of coffee every year of which 75 percent are exported to countries like Italy, Germany, Russia, Belgium and Turkey. Today, India is home to 16 distinct varieties of coffee.

The journey of coffee to India has a vivid Arab connection. A devout pilgrim hailing from Chickmagalur, a picturesque hill station in India’s Karnataka state, Hazarat Shah Janab Magatabi, fondly known as Baba Budan, on his return journey, around 1600 AD via Yemen brought with him seven Coffee Arabica seeds by strapping them to his chest under his tunic.

Bababudangiri Hills in Chickmagalur where coffee was first planted in India. (Supplied)
Bababudangiri Hills in Chickmagalur where coffee was first planted in India. (Supplied)

Legend has it that Arabs were extremely protective about their coffee industry and taking the seeds outside was not allowed. The saint had known that they were magical seeds for making refreshing beverage as he had tasted the kahwa (Arabic for coffee) in Mocha, a port city of Yemen that overlooks the Red Sea.

Besides being a trading hub for coffee, Mocha was the source of the popular Mocha coffee beans. After reaching his native place, Baba Budan sowed the seeds in his hermitage garden near a hill cave at Chandragiri and the rest is history.

Chickmagalur is a picturesque hill station in India’s Karnataka state. (Supplied)
Chickmagalur is a picturesque hill station in India’s Karnataka state. (Supplied)

The coffee plants gradually spread as backyard plantings, and later on to the hills. The hills are now called Baba Budan Hills after the him. Today Chickmagalur, the birthplace of coffee in India, is filled with coffee plantations throughout its length and breadth.

Besides Chickmagalur, the charming region of Coorg is also one of the major grower of coffee. Coffee cultivation grew and thrived in India during the British rule and beyond.

A fall amid coffee plantations in Chickmagalur. (Supplied)
A fall amid coffee plantations in Chickmagalur. (Supplied)

The Dutch began to harvest coffee in the Malabar region, but a major transition happened when the British led a relentless drive to set up Arabica coffee plantations across the hilly regions in South India, where the climatic conditions were more favorable for the crop.

Grown under a canopy of thick natural shade in ecologically sensitive regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats spread over Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Indian coffee quickly spread to non-traditional areas like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on the Eastern Coast; Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in the North East. Despite many states growing coffee, Karnataka and Kerala, accounting for nearly 90 percent of total production.

The charming region of Coorg is also one of the major grower of coffee. (Supplied)
The charming region of Coorg is also one of the major grower of coffee. (Supplied)

In India, based on region of production, 13 regional coffees are classified: Anamalais, Bababudangiris, Biligiris, Araku Valley, Brahmaputra, Shevaroys, and Pulneys (for Arabica) and Wayanaad and Travancore (for Robusta). Coorg, Chikmagalur, Nilgiris and Manjarabad are famous for both Arabica and Robusta.

Apart from these 13, there are three Specialty Coffees classified based on their international popularity. They are Monsooned Malabar, Mysore Nuggets and Robusta Kaapi Royale.

Stall owners are thankful to Arabia for the wonderful coffee. (Supplied)
Stall owners are thankful to Arabia for the wonderful coffee. (Supplied)

During a recent visit to Baba Budan hills, this correspondent spoke to stall owners and few tourists who still are thankful to Arabia for the wonderful coffee.

One stall owner who sells cool drinks and snacks on the hills overlooking the shrine summed up, “It is because of Baba Budan that India got coffee so early and the credit for discovering coffee goes to Arabs who invented and discovered hundreds of stuff including the coffee.”

Little wonder then a small cup of coffee has so much history behind it.

source: http://www.english.alarabiya.net / AlArabiya News / Home> Features / by Aftab Husain Kola / October 07th, 2018

PULITZER CENTER UPDATE: Independent Multimedia Journalist Wins Pulitzer Center Award for Innovative Gender, Climate Storytelling

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, ,

NEW DELHI:

The Pulitzer Center is pleased to announce freelance multimedia journalist Sidrah Fatma Ahmed has been selected as the 2023 winner of the Pulitzer Center’s annual Breakthrough Journalism Award . The runner-up award goes to freelance journalist Emily Fishbein.

The $12,000 Breakthrough Award, inaugurated in 2020, is made possible through the generous support of Eva Lohrer. The award seeks to recognize and celebrate the achievements of Pulitzer Center-affiliated freelance journalists who report on the underreported issues. The runner-up is awarded $5,000.

Ahmed, a Delhi-based freelancer, is recognized not only for her dedication to producing and directing high-caliber video projects on underreported topics, but also for enriching projects with nuanced and layered storytelling.

Ahmed’s reaction to winning the award was a nod to all those she has reported on.

“It’s a moment to celebrate the people represented in my stories. There are so many stories to be told in India. I hope to use this support to do more in-depth video reporting in the areas of climate justice, gender, and health,” Ahmed said in a recent interview with Pulitzer Center Editorial Intern Alexandra Byrne.

Ahmed, who began her career in India with a legacy news outlet, felt increasingly drawn to underreported topics and people, so she struck out on her own. Ahmed told Byrne she was “a bit restless because I was spending a lot of time in the office. The whole reason I got into journalism was so that I could be in the field and I could talk to different kinds of people, and I could really explore and engage and dig and be curious.”

Her dynamic video production and in-depth reporting skills have captured the attention of numerous international news outlets, including the Financial Times, for which she directed the Pulitzer Center-supported film Can India Adapt to Extreme Heat? alongside grantee Juliet Riddell. For this project, Ahmed and Riddell succeeded in blending macroeconomic insights with personal stories from a diverse range of Indians, including farmers, scientists, vendors, and children.

Ahmed says she wants to continue to tackle relevant topics that are in the news, but she also hopes one day to produce and direct longer-format documentaries.

The 2023 Breakthrough Award runner-up is freelance journalist Emily Fishbein for her relentless focus on exposing wrongs in Myanmar over the past few years, as well as for her collaborative approach to working with local reporting partners.

Fishbein said she was “honored to receive this award. It really validates everything I have been working for as a journalist and gives me so much motivation.”

With regard to her collaborative approach, she says she seeks “to pay forward the opportunities afforded to me as an international journalist and to encourage and support rising local talent who have a passion for the issues they cover.”

Past recipients of the annual Breakthrough Award include former grantees Neha Wadekar, Mariana Palau, and Victoria McKenzie. Read more about the Breakthrough Journalism Award here.

We celebrate freelancers’ adaptability and their dogged pursuit of the truth, work that is essential in today’s news environment. These journalists provide diverse perspectives and in-depth coverage of issues often overlooked by traditional media outlets. They often work alone, with little or no safety net, and with thin profit margins. We’re proud to amplify their work and contribute to their development.

source: http://www.pulitzercenter.org / Pulitzer Center / Home> Updates / by Steve Sapeinza, Pulitzer Center Staff / August 17th, 2023

Who Is Dr Faruk Gulam Patel? A Bus Conductor’s Son Who Once Worked In London Café, Today Owns Rs 2,500 Crore Business Empire

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, Leaders, Science & Technology, , , , , , ,

Saladara Village (Bharuch) / Surat, GUJARAT :

Dr Faruk Gulam Patel is the Chairman and Managing Director of KP Group, one of the major players in the solar and wind power sector in India.

Who Is Dr Faruk Gulam Patel? A Bus Conductor's Son Who Once Worked In London Café, Today Owns Rs 2,500 Crore Business Empire
Having seen poverty closely, Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel moved to Mumbai at a younger age to help his family

A house is not built overnight just like success. One lesser-known aspect of success is the importance of failure. While success is often associated with achieving goals and attaining positive outcomes, failure plays a crucial role in the journey toward success. And failure is not always associated with the fall; it’s also associated with the struggles you face during your journey. One such inspiring story is Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel, Chairman and Managing Director of KP Group.

Dr. Patel often remains in the news for his trust in the India story and his latest tryst with headlines was due to him being conferred with an honorary doctorate by the American East Coast University for his work in the field of renewable energy.

Who Is Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel?

Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel, born on March 24, 1972, hails from Saladara Village in Bharuch. His parents, Gulam Patel and Rashidaben, raised him in a humble household.

In this lower-middle-class family, Dr. Patel’s father made a living as a bus conductor for Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC). Just like average Indian middle-class families, Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel did his primary schooling at Surat Municipal Corporation School in Kanbiwad Bhandri Moholla and later on shifted to VD Desai Vadiwala School also called Bhulka Bhavan on the advice of his teacher Shantaben.

Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel’s Struggle

Having seen poverty closely, Dr. Faruk Gulam Patel moved to Mumbai to help his family financially he began learning about import-exports along with working as an optician to earn extra money.

Later, he joined Manmade Textile Research Association in 1990 for experience and later started a business by joining Hafiz Brothers.

Then in 1991, he flew to England and started working in a café to support his family. But soon he started missing his motherland and wanted to do something for his country.

Dr. Faruk G. Patel’s Entrepreneurial Journey

After spending two years abroad, he flew back to Surat in 1993 and started carting business.

But being an ambitious person with a bigger vision in 1994, he started KP Group with a capital of Rs 1 lakh. It was the turning point of Dr. Patel’s journey.

Going ahead in 2001 he started KP Buildcon Pvt. Ltd. and marked his journey into Telecommunication Industry. Recognizing the future of communication and the increasing demand for communication towers, he made the strategic decision to expand his business across 16 states in India. Building on his visionary mindset, after years of success, he saw the importance of diversification and ventured into the renewable energy sector. 

In 2008, he founded KPI Green Energy, marking his entry into the solar power domain. Following that, in 2010, he further expanded his portfolio by establishing KP Energy, focusing on wind power projects. Taking his solar power aspirations forward, he initially procured 220 acres of land in Sudi, Bharuch, to develop a Solar Park. Over time, his vision expanded, and the group now possesses over 1500 acres of land; owns Gujarat’s largest private solar park, and has 2+GW of green energy portfolio. The KP Group today has a business empire of Rs 2,500 crore across India.

source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / Zee News / Home> News> Business> Success Story / by Zee News Bureau / July 07th, 2023