Press Release from GIAN
March 15, 2001

First ever Technology Transfer of Grassroots Innovation for State Rights

Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN), an initiative of Government of Gujarat, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Society for Research Initiative in Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) was set up to link grassroots innovations with investment and enterprise in March 1997.

GIAN has, in its existence of four years, supported small innovators in various ways and have helped them to set up enterprise, arrange loan and venture investment. The Honeybee Network, founded by Prof. Anil K. Gupta of IIMA, scouts these innovations.

The Press Conference is being organized to share with you the two-milestone achievement by GIAN. One of the achievement is about a technology transfer, which is the first of its kind in India and possibly world where the rights to manufacture and sell a grassroots technology developed in India is being bought for the whole state by a local entrepreneur.

The other major achievement has been the success of GIAN in arranging venture investment for a grassroots innovation based enterprise and its successful exit from the enterprise with an annualized gain of 30 percent.

Technology Transfer

Natural water cooler, a product developed by Shri Arvind Bhai Patel, an SSC pass grassroots innovator, reduces the output temperature of water by 5 to 10 degrees within 15 minutes, thus providing cool drinking water without using any form of non-renewable energy. The device was worked on by GIAN with the help of IIT, Mumbai and GEDA and has been found to be a very effective solution for parched throats.

In order to make it reach the market, GIAN carried out a technology valuation exercise for the state of Gujarat and developed a valuation model on based on NPV method.

GIAN then negotiated the deal with various parties and finally after consulting the innovator has decided to award the rights of technology manufacturing and transfer to M/s Nature Products owned by Shri Kamlesh Bhatt and Laxman Panchal.

The following scheme of payment has been worked out for technology transfer.
1.. The buyer would pay a down payment of Rupees three hundred thousand only as one-time fees for acquiring the rights for manufacturing and marketing of the Natural Water Cooler.
2.. The rights are limited by the geographical boundary of the state. The buyer has no rights to manufacture or sell outside Gujarat.
3.. The buyer would make the payment in four installments. A token agreement-signing amount of Rupees twenty five thousand only is being paid to the innovator. This would be accompanied with four post dated cheque amounting to Rupees two lakh seventy five thousand only linked to the various stages of innovation.

Grassroots innovation based enterprise brings thirty percent annualized returns to Venture

Cotton Stripper machine developed by Mansukh Bhai Patel has solved an age-old problem of separating kernel from local cotton varieties for farmers. Despite help from relatives and friend Masukh Bhai needed assistance from outside agencies to set up a manufacturing plant.

GIAN has helped Mansukh bhai in perfecting the machine by involving institution like Technopreneur promotion program (TePP) of Ministry of Science and Technology and National Institute of Design. GIAN then arranged working capital loan for Mansukh Bhai from State bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

However Mansukh bhai has no security to offer any further and needed another Rupees two-lakh fifty thousand only for starting production. GIAN with the help of SRISTI arranged the fund from a informal group called Friends of SRISTI in SINGAPORE the investment in form of a risk loan linked to the return on turn over. In a short period of four months Mansukh bhai has returned the principle investment along with an annualized rate of return of 30%.

It is a very proud moment for all of us at Honey Bee Network, GIAN, SRISTI that we have been able to prove to the world that small investment in grassroots technology has the potential of providing exciting returns.

The success of this experiment has also strengthen GIAN attempt to set up India's first Micro Venture Fund dedicated to grassroots innovations to be names as Shodh venture Fund Limited. These milestones have very clearly outlined potential of grassroots technology to act as the major building block for an innovative India. It has also very clearly outlined that the common man in India not only appreciate and respect the intellectual property of other Indian but is willing to express that appreciation by investing in that intellectual property.