The big breaking news on Brand Equity yesterday was the scam-ovation by Publicis. Anyone who had spare time for such inanities(and that includes me:-) would have read the article/ expose by Brand Equity written in a breathless adolescent tone! Anyways this post is about a quiet and real innovation that I found tucked as a story in the newly launched India edition of Technology Review - the MIT's magazine on innovation!
The story was about a solar powered rickshaw - perhaps the only non-polluting commercial vehicle in India and the sole means of earning a livelihood for over 5 million people!
After 100 years of the rickshaw era, scientists at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) New Delhi have found a pollution-free solution to end the bane of this large population by developing the Soleckshaw.(All this rickshaw talk reminded me of the rickshaw that used to ferry me to play-school - it was branded Jayanti Janta Express branded on the train that ran between Howrah and Delhi passing through Patna!!)
Soleckshaw is driven partly by pedal and partly by electric power supplied by a battery that is charged from solar energy. The initiative has come as a small step towards improving the life of 800 million people who are living below the poverty line, including 5 mn rickshaw pullers.
Though the good ole 'autos'(driven on fossil fuel)are also an economical means of transport and used by millions, Soleckshaw with its zero carbon footprint promises cleaner environmentproviding quality of life for rickshaw-pullers without any reliance on fuel...
Hope the Soleckshaw happens. Hope it gets the requisite push by the govt. And some corporate good Samaritan also takes up the cause...
And hope the conversations in big media are a little more about game-changing innovations and a lot less about scam-ovations!!
P.S. A piece of trivia - this is the chaar sau beeswan post of Indiadrant:-)
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