Kashmiri innovator among seven to stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan

A Kashmir youth is among the seven innovators who has been selected to stay for two weeks at Rashtrapati Bhavan under a Scholars-In-Residence program starting from March 12.

President Pranab Mukherjee Monday selected the seven innovators for a two-week stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan under a Scholars-In-Residence program starting from March 12.

Mushtaq Ahmed Dar of Islamabad district has been selected for developing walnut cracking machine.

Hailing from Kreeri village of the district, Dar’s machine can peel the green walnuts and crack it for its kernels.

The traditional walnut cracking is a tedious and time consuming process. Dar’s machine consists of three units that peels off the green walnuts, washing and drying, and finally cracking the walnuts.

“My village is engaged in agriculture and horticulture occupation. As a child I could see the hardships faced by my grandparents while processing the walnut manually, the acid ooze from the green walnuts injured the hands. I always dreamt of doing something for them,” Dar said.

The other selected innovators are: GK Ratnakar (Karnataka) for his mini hydro turbine invention; Lal Biakzuala Ralte (Mizoram) for a bamboo splint-making machine; Mallesham Laxminarayana Chinthakindi (Andhra Pradesh) for “Laxmi” Asu-making machine; Amrut Lal Bawandas Agrawat (Gujarat) for developing an Aaruni Bullock Cart and Innovative Pulley; Anuradha Pal (Andhra Pradesh) for developing an antibiotic medicine; and Swapnanil Debajit Talukdar (Assam) for a foot-operated page-turning machine for the specially-abled.

The Innovation Scholars In-Residence Scheme was launched by the President on December 11, 2013 with a view to promoting the spirit of innovation and giving further impetus to grassroots innovation activities.

The main objective of the Scheme is to provide an environment to grassroots innovators in Rashtrapati Bhavan to work on a project in hand and take their innovative ideas forward.