Monthly Coverage Dossier June 2019

IIT Madras is a campus of choice for high ranking JEE students

Date: 4th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Shivangi Mishra Professor: Prof Umakant Dash Headline: Course Cursor: Here's what a course in Development Studies at IIT Madras has to offer URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/course-cursor- heres-what-a-course-in-development-studies-at-iit-madras-has-to- offer/articleshow/69636732.cms

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof K Srilata Headline: Book launch Indian Institute of Technology Madras

IIT Madras is an industry friendly Institute

Date: 1st June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Ram Sundaram Professor: Prof Thillai Rajan A Headline: IIT-Madras develops data platform on infra projects URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-madras-develops-data- platform-on-infra-projects/articleshow/69601606.cms

IIT-Madras develops data platform on infra projects

IIT-Madras (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/IIT-Madras) has developed an Integrated Database on Infrastructure Projects (IDIP (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/IDIP)), a data platform, for governments, funding agencies, developers and researchers. The platform, launched on Wednesday, is aimed at enhancing the efficiency of infrastructure development in India and enable effective decision-making among different stakeholders involved, according to a press release. The press release added that the initial focus would be on the road (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/road) sector, which has received the highest private investment among all infrastructure sectors. In addition to roads, other transport.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Madras launched a data platform to enhance the efficiency of infrastructure development in India by presenting data as a tool for effective decision-making, India Today reports. The data platform was launched on 29 May at the World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR) held at IIT Bombay.

The ‘Integrated Database on Infrastructure Projects’ (IDIP) will initially focus on the road sector as it has the highest allocation of funds among other projects, and has the highest private investment through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

IDIP will curate and validate data extracted from various sources to cover projects undertaken by State and National governments along with their PPP. It will also collect data from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) EPC projects.

The platform will then use the data to create visual analytics and data points to facilitate ease of decision-making to track progress and monitor the projects. IDIP will eventually be applied to other sectors of Railways, Ports and Airports, Power, Transmission, Water Supply, Sanitation and Solid Waste management.

Tags: Sanitation, Power, railways, IIT Madras, Infrastructure, IIT Bombay, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Roads, State Governments, Water Supply, data base, Data Platform, World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR), Integrated Database on Infrastructure Projects (IDIP), Public Private Partnership (PPP), National government, NHAI EPC Projects, Ports and Airports, Transmission, Solid Waste management.

Date: 1st June 2019 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Thillai Rajan A Headline: IIT-Madras Launches Data Platform To Improve Efficiency Of Government Infrastructure Development URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/iit-madras-launches-data-platform-to-improve- efficiency-of-government-infrastructure-development

IIT-Madras Launches Data Platform To Improve Efficiency Of Government Infrastructure Development

Date: 3rd June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M database to improve infrastructure

Date: 5th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: A Ragu Raman Professor: Prof Indhumathi Nambi Headline: IIT-Madras invites school students to witness Carbon Zero Challenge URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-madras-invites-school- students-to-witness-carbon-zero-challenge/articleshow/69648228.cms

IIT-Madras invites school students to witness Carbon Zero Challenge

Indian Institute of Technology Madras is inviting school students to witness the Finale of the second edition of ‘Carbon Zero Challenge,’ a Cleantech Innovation Contest that attracted teams comprising students/early entrepreneurs and/or startups from across 25 states. The exhibition will be open for public viewing in IIT Madras campus between 9 am and 5.15 pm on 5th and 6th June 2019 and 9 and 12 noon on 7th June.

The challenge is a one-of-its-kind contest and a pioneering initiative by IIT Madras and fully supported by Virtusa Corporation. The program’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it not only fosters cleantech innovations but also successful environmental startups addressing challenges in energy, water, waste, industry and agricultural sectors. 996 teams competed with their clean tech ideas. 20 teams with high impact ideas were shortlisted to receive training and mentoring in addition to the financial support of up to Rs.5 lakhs over a period of 6 months to build their prototypes and business models. The 20 finalists have put up their prototypes for demonstration during the at the ICSR building Exhibition Hall.

Date: 5th June 2019 Publication: Thandora Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Indhumathi Nambi Headline: IIT-Madras invites school students to witness Carbon Zero Challenge URL: https://thandoratimes.com/news-id-iit-madras-invites-school-students-to- witness-carbon-zero-challenge1456.htm

IIT-Madras invites school students to witness Carbon Zero Challenge

Date: 5th June 2019 Publication: Crystal News Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Indhumathi Nambi Headline: IIT-Madras invites school students to witness Carbon Zero Challenge URL: https://crystaltechnews.com/2019/06/04/iit-invites-students-for-carbon-zero- challenge/

IIT-Madras invites school students to witness Carbon Zero Challenge

Indian Institute of Technology — Madras has invited school students to witness the finale of the second edition of Carbon Zero Challenge, a cleantech innovation contest that attracted teams comprising student teams and startups from 25 states.

Date: 5th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: Final round of innovation contest

Date: 6th June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: ‘Students must take failure in their stride’ URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/students-must-take-failure-in- their-stride/article27528080.ece

Date: 6th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M event to promote science ends

Date: 6th June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: Srikanth Headline: Carbon Zero Challenge throws up innovative products URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/carbon-zero-challenge- throws-up-innovative-products/article27528024.ece

Date: 7th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Ram Sundaram Headline: IIT-Madras completes 10th year of summer program for schoolchildren URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-madras-completes-10th- year-of-summer-program-for-schoolchildren/articleshow/69678944.cms

Date: 6th June 2019 Organization: News J Tamil News Channel Edition: Electronic Journalist: Ms. Pavitra Faculty: Prof Indumathi Nambi Headline: ஐஐ羿 மாணவர்களின் உலக 毁ற்쟁毂ழல் கண்காட்殿 (IIT Students expo for environment) ÜRL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmZAwAATsMk

Date: 8th June 2019 Organization: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: MHRD, IIT-M may collaborate on carbon neutral prototypes URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/mhrd-iit-m-may-collaborate- on-carbon-neutral-prototypes/articleshow/69697099.cms

Date: 8th June 2019 Publication: India Today Edition: online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Indumathi Nambi Headline: IIT Madras hosts 2nd edition of Carbon Zero Challenge to tackle environmental problems in India URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-hosts-2nd- edition-of-carbon-zero-challenge-to-tackle-environmental-problems-in-india- 1544445-2019-06-07

IIT Madras hosts 2nd edition of Carbon Zero Challenge to tackle environmental problems in India

Aim

The challenge aims to create a global impact by combining three powerful factors of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Energy and Environment and Youth to protect future generations. The winners were announced on June 07, 2019 during the Grand Finale.

The Top 3 Projects are: Circular Economy Domain: A self-sustained integrated closed cycle coconut shell activated carbon production process by Pristine Energia, a student team from IIT Madras (Members: Muthu Kumar K, Syed Mughees Ali, Mentors: Prof. Varunkumar S, Thileepan Panchatsaram, Dr. Shantha K Shankar)

Electric Vehicle Domain: Electric powertrain solutions for E-commerce logistics by Clean Electric, a startup from IIT-BHU Varanasi (Team Members: Akash Gupta, Praveen Kumar Yadav, Mentor: Laltu Chandra, SK Sharma, KS Ramanujan)

Clean Energy Domain: A tubular PEM Fuel Cell that is open-cathode and air- breathing, developed by Elicius Energy, an IIT Madras-incubated startup (Team Members: Sam Pearn-Rowe, Suseendiran Ravichandran, Amit Bhosale, Rishaban Radhakrishnan, Niyas Attashery; Mentor: Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy)

Two projects received a special mention from the Jury

1. Agriculature Domain: An agricultural dehydrator to increase the shelf life of fruits, vegetables and spices by Carpro Technologies, a startup from Coimbatore (Member: Uthayakumar. K., Surendran. PB, Mentor: Sriram Sankaran)

2. Electric Vehicle Domain: an Electric Kick Scooter by IngoElectric, a startup from Bengaluru (Team members: Nikhil Gonsalves, Manjunath Panthangi, Anirudh SC, Kartik KV and Mentor Philip Mathias)

Sending a message for this occasion, Shambhu Kallolikar IAS, Principal Secretary to TN Government, Environment and Forests Department, said, "Innovations can bring about a paradigm shift in tackling energy and environmental challenges by providing affordable, low-carbon, scalable and industry-acceptable solutions. I believe Carbon Zero Challenge contest is a significant step in the right direction in encouraging home- grown technology to solve the nation's problems."

Further, Shambhu Kallolikar added, "The Government of Tamil Nadu is keen to encourage startups and innovation in the state and committed to support sustainable solutions. The state will also welcome green entrepreneurs and provide the necessary support for a startup in this sector to grow in Tamil Nadu, creating both solutions to problems and jobs."

CZeroC19 started with 996 applications from 25 states across India. After a rigorous process of shortlisting by business experts and technical experts, 24 teams were selected. These shortlisted teams received training and mentoring in addition to the financial support of up to Rs.5 lakhs over a period of 6 months to build their prototypes and evolve their business models.

Checking the progress The progress of the teams were closely monitored throughout the contest with staged fund release, monthly progress reports, and a one-on-one mid-term review by a panel of judges. The contest culminated in a three-day exhibition launched on World environment day, June 5, 2019 during which 21 experts headed by a three member jury panel from industry and academia evaluated the teams

Why is it important? The challenge is a one-of-its-kind contest and a pioneering initiative by IIT Madras and fully supported by Virtusa Corporation. The program's uniqueness lies in the fact that it is one-of-its-kind initiative in its category that focuses on the energy and environment technological innovations at a national level and supports the eco-entrepreneurs in the 5 thematic areas.

The larger goal is to foster a sustainable ecosystem wherein clean technology ideas can emerge and develop into long-term solutions. Speaking on the occasion as Guest of Honor, Sundararajan Narayanan, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Virtusa Corporation said, "For the second year in a row, we are proud to collaborate with IIT Madras in the Carbon Zero Challenge 2019. Our goal is to promote sustainable opportunities and inspire young entrepreneurs to drive sustainable development. Given this rapid pace of change, Virtusa is aptly positioned in the market to leverage our digital engineering heritage to innovate and help reduce environmental footprint, demonstrate ethical maturity and encourage a cohesive and mutually respectable corporate culture for its workforce."

Selection process An expert panel of Screening Committee from the thematic areas and clean technology fields evaluated the initial set of 996 applications and the top 84 teams from all over India were shortlisted for Interviews. The shortlisted 84 teams pitched their project ideas to a Panel of Expert Jury on October 26 and 27, 2018. From this, a total of 24 teams tackling agriculture, environment, energy, water and societal problems were selected to go to the next phase of CZeroC.

Apart from funding support of the order of Rs. 5 lakh per team provided to build prototypes, the shortlisted teams received continued training and mentorship from experts from both India and abroad.

Purpose at large Launched on June 5, 2018, this 2nd edition of the Cleantech Innovation Contest attracted teams comprising students/early entrepreneurs and/or startups from across 25 states. The name 'Carbon Zero' signifies the collective humanitarian goal of minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, providing clean air and water and sustainability. Seeking out innovative solutions to address these is a small step towards achieving this objective.

Take a note! Prof. Indumathi Nambi, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, and Coordinator Carbon Zero Challenge, said, "A recent report indicates India is the third most polluted country in the world and 600 million people face extreme water crisis. Innovations & entrepreneurship in cleantech domains; water, waste, energy is the need of the hour. Motivating young minds to ideate, innovate, incubate should be the top priority of every academic institute. This is the motto for Carbon Zero Challenge"

Date: 8th June 2019 Publication: Techie Expert Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Indumathi Nambi Headline: IIT Madras hosts 2nd edition of Carbon Zero Challenge to boost innovative URL: https://www.techiexpert.com/iit-madras-hosts-2nd-edition-of-carbon-zero- challenge-to-boost-innovative/

IIT Madras hosts 2nd edition of Carbon Zero Challenge to boost innovative

From 996 applications from 25 States, 24 teams were shortlisted and received training & mentoring along with financial support of up to Rs.5 lakh to build their prototypes and evolve their business models

Date: 8th June 2019 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Day 3 of Carbon Zero Challenge underway at IIT-M

Date: 9th June 2019 Organization: DD Podhighai Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Faculty: Prof Indumathi Nambi Headline: ஐஐ羿 மாணவர்களின் உலக 毁ற்쟁毂ழல் கண்காட்殿 (IIT Students expo for environment)

Date: 9th June 2019 Publication: WION News Edition: Online Journalist: Siddharth Professor: Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Prof Indumathi Nambi Headline: IIT’s Carbon Zero Challenge churns out innovative solutions to India’s energy, environmental challenges URL: https://www.wionews.com/india-news/iits-carbon-zero-challenge-churns-out- innovative-indigenous-solutions-to-indias-energy-environmental-challenges-225401

IIT’s Carbon Zero Challenge churns out innovative solutions to India’s energy, environmental challenges

The grand finale of the second edition of the Carbon Zero Challenge at the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) witnessed 24 teams display their prototypes that were designed and developed to help overcome challenges in the fields of agri-tech, environment, energy, social and water. The finalists were shortlisted from around 1,000 teams that had applied from 25 states across India.

Launched in June 2018, the contest was open to students, young entrepreneurs and start-ups. A screening committee comprising of domain experts and IIT alumni evaluated the initial set of applications and shortlisted 84 teams that were interviewed and scrutinized based on their project ideas and pitch.

Speaking at the event, Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director IIT Madras said, “this year the event is pan-India, earlier it was just a handful of states. There is nationwide support for bright ideas. IIT Madras, with the help from alumni and domain experts, shortlist the proposals, offer financial support and mentoring by domain experts. Winners will get further support and mentoring and will be incubated. Winners of last year have done really well, some of them have formed their own companies.”

Urine is the main source of nutrients in a waste water treatment plant and when processed in this machine, an eco-fertilizer struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate), ammonia solution (used in cleaning agents) and 90 per cent of water (that can be used to water plants) can be derived from urine Date: 9th June 2019 Publication: News Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT-Madras teams win carbon zero challenge URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2019/06/08/iit-madras-teams-win- carbon-zero-challenge/

IIT-Madras teams win carbon zero challenge

Teams from IIT-Madras have won first and third prize in the second edition of carbon zero challenge, an All-India innovation and entrepreneurship contest organised by IIT- M and Virtusa Corporation here Friday.

CZeroC19 was started with 996 applications from 25 States across India. After a rigorous process of shortlisting by business experts and technical experts, 24 teams were selected. These shortlisted teams received training and mentoring in addition to the financial support of up to Rs 5 lakh over a period of six months to build their prototypes and evolve their business models, a press release said. The grand final was held Friday, where top three projects were selected.

They are: Circular Economy Domain – A self-sustained integrated closed cycle coconut shell activated carbon production process by Pristine Energia, a student team from IIT Madras (Members: Muthu Kumar K, Syed Mughees Ali).

The second project – Electric Vehicle Domain – Electric powertrain solutions for E- commerce logistics by Clean Electric, a startup from IIT-BHU Varanasi (Team Members: Akash Gupta, Praveen Kumar Yadav).

The third prize went to Clean Energy Domain – A tubular PEM Fuel Cell that is open- cathode and air-breathing, developed by Elicius Energy, an IIT Madras-incubated startup (Team members: Sam Pearn-Rowe, Suseendiran Ravichandran, Amit Bhosale, Rishaban Radhakrishnan, Niyas Attashery). Two projects received a special mention from the jury – Agriculture Domain – An agricultural dehydrator to increase the shelf life of fruits, vegetables and spices by Carpro Technologies, a startup from Coimbatore and Electric Vehicle Domain – an electric kick scooter by IngoElectric, a startup from Bengaluru.

Addressing the gathering, MHRD Chief Innovation Officer, Abhay Jere said, “The Ministry of HRD will certainly consider partnering with carbon zero challenge team for the next smart India hackathon initiative, especially for the theme on Sustainability and Waste Management.”

IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “This all-India competition identifies and nurtures young innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions that will help us to move to a greener and cleaner world. Technologies developed by these youth for clean water, air, energy and the environment are very important for the world, particularly India. IIT Madras has a vibrant ecosystem to encourage innovations through our student-centred Centre for Innovation (CFI), pre-incubator ‘Nirmaan’ and the Gopalakrishnan Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” Date: 8th June 2019 Publication: Edu Advice Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Prof Indumathi Nambi Headline: IIT Madras hosts 2nd edition of Carbon Zero Challenge URL: http://eduadvice.in/home/NewsDetail?pid=16211

IIT Madras hosts 2nd edition of Carbon Zero Challenge

Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Virtusa Corporation organized the grand finale of the Second Edition of Carbon Zero Challenge, an All-India innovation and entrepreneurship contest, on campus today (7th June 2019). Its objective is to identify and curate practical innovative and indigenous solutions with a sound business case at scale to solve energy and environmental problems in India. The challenge aims to create a global impact by combining three powerful factors of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Energy and Environment and Youth to protect future generations. The winners were announced on 7th June 2019 during the Grand Finale in the presence of a host of industry experts and dignitaries. The Top Three Projects are:

* CIRCULAR ECONOMY DOMAIN: a self-sustained integrated closed cycle coconut shell activated carbon production process by PRISTINE ENERGIA, a student team from IIT Madras (Members: Muthu Kumar K, Syed Mughees Ali, Mentors: Prof. Varunkumar S, Mr. Thileepan Panchatsaram, Dr. Shantha K Shankar) *ELECTRIC VEHICLE DOMAIN: Electric powertrain solutions for E-commerce logistics by CLEAN ELECTRIC, a startup from IIT-BHU Varanasi (Team Members: Akash Gupta, Praveen Kumar Yadav, Mentor: Mr Laltu Chandra, Mr. S. K. Sharma, Mr. K. S. Ramanujan) * CLEAN ENERGY DOMAIN: A tubular PEM Fuel Cell that is open-cathode and air- breathing, developed by ELICIUS ENERGY, an IIT Madras-incubated startup (Team Members: Sam Pearn-Rowe, Suseendiran Ravichandran, Amit Bhosale, Rishaban Radhakrishnan, Niyas Attashery; Mentor: Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy)

Two projects received a special mention from the Jury

1. AGRICULTURE DOMAIN: An agricultural dehydrator to increase the shelf life of fruits, vegetables and spices by Carpro Technologies, a startup from Coimbatore (Member: Uthayakumar. K., Surendran. PB, Mentor: Shri. Sriram Sankaran) 2. ELECTRIC VEHICLE DOMAIN: an Electric Kick Scooter by IngoElectric, a startup from Bengaluru (Team members: Nikhil Gonsalves, Manjunath Panthangi, Anirudh SC, Kartik KV and Mentor Mr Philip Mathias) Sending a message for this occasion, Shri Shambhu Kallolikar IAS, Principal Secretary to TN Government, Environment and Forests Department, said, “Innovations can bring about a paradigm shift in tackling energy and environmental challenges by providing affordable, low-carbon, scalable and industry-acceptable solutions. I believe Carbon Zero Challenge contest is a significant step in the right direction in encouraging home- grown technology to solve the nation's problems.” Further, Mr. Shambhu Kallolikar added, “The Government of Tamil Nadu is keen to encourage startups and innovation in the State and committed to support sustainable solutions. The State will also welcome green entrepreneurs and provide the necessary support for a startup in this sector to grow in Tamil Nadu, creating both solutions to problems and jobs.” CZeroC19 started with 996 applications from 25 states across India. After a rigorous process of shortlisting by business experts and technical experts, 24 teams were selected. These shortlisted teams received training and mentoring in addition to the financial support of up to Rs.5 lakhs over a period of 6 months to build their prototypes and evolve their business models. In his address, chief guest for the finale, Shri Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer of MHRD, Government of India, said, “I am quite impressed by the quality of innovators identified and nurtured by Carbon Zero Challenge Team. Some of these innovators are really capable of making it big if hand-holded further. The Ministry of HRD will certainly consider partnering with Carbon Zero Challenge team for the next smart India hackathon initiative, especially for the theme on Sustainability and Waste Management.” The progress of the teams were closely monitored throughout the contest with staged fund release, monthly progress reports, and a one-on-one mid-term review by a panel of judges. The contest culminated in a three-day exhibition launched on World environment day, June 5th, 2019 during which 21 experts headed by a three member jury panel from industry and academia evaluated the teams The challenge is a one-of-its-kind contest and a pioneering initiative by IIT Madras and fully supported by Virtusa Corporation. The program’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it is one-of-its-kind initiative in its category that focuses on the energy and environment technological innovations at a national level and supports the eco-entrepreneurs in the 5 thematic areas. The larger goal is to foster a sustainable ecosystem wherein clean technology ideas can emerge and develop into long-term solutions. Speaking on the occasion as Guest of Honor, Shri Sundararajan Narayanan, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Virtusa Corporation said, “For the second year in a row, we are proud to collaborate with IIT Madras in the Carbon Zero Challenge 2019. Our goal is to promote sustainable opportunities and inspire young entrepreneurs to drive sustainable development. Given this rapid pace of change, Virtusa is aptly positioned in the market to leverage our digital engineering heritage to innovate and help reduce environmental footprint, demonstrate ethical maturity and encourage a cohesive and mutually respectable corporate culture for its workforce.” An Expert panel of Screening Committee from the thematic areas and clean technology fields evaluated the initial set of 996 applications and the Top 84 teams from all over India were shortlisted for Interviews. The shortlisted 84 teams pitched their project ideas to a Panel of Expert Jury on October 26th and 27th, 2018. From this, a total of 24 teams tackling agriculture, environment, energy, water and societal problems were selected to go to the next phase of CZeroC. Presiding over the function, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “This all-India competition identifies and nurtures young innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions that will help us to move to a greener and cleaner world. Technologies developed by these youth for clean water, air, energy and the environment are very important for the world, particularly India. IIT Madras has a vibrant ecosystem to encourage innovations through our student-centred Center for Innovation (CFI), pre-incubator ‘Nirmaan’ and the Gopalakrishnan Deshpande Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” Launched on 5th June 2018, this 2nd edition of the Cleantech Innovation Contest attracted teams comprising students/early entrepreneurs and/or startups from across 25 states. The name ‘Carbon Zero’ signifies the collective humanitarian goal of minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, providing clean air and water and sustainability. Seeking out innovative solutions to address these is a small step towards achieving this objective. According to Guest of Honor, Shri Madhavan Satagopan, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Technology, Virtusa Corporation, “At Virtusa, we are committed to building a sustainable future. We encourage innovation to accomplish customer demands and overcome challenges to aid sustainable growth. We are happy to be a part of this initiative with IIT Madras, which is a step forward in our sustainability endeavour for the future. Today, when technological innovation defines the wheel of human civilization and its progress, our commitment to sustainability has become pivotal. This collaboration with IIT Madras will solidify our commitment to building a sustainable future.” Apart from funding support of the order of Rs. 5 lakh per team provided to build prototypes, the shortlisted teams received continued training and mentorship from experts from both India and abroad. Padma Shri Awardee Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor, IIT Madras, addressed the finale and spoke about the importance of such events in promoting green innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. Prof. Indumathi Nambi, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, and Coordinator Carbon Zero Challenge, said, “A recent report indicates India is the third most polluted country in the world and 600 million people face extreme water crisis. Innovations & entrepreneurship in cleantech domains; water, waste, energy is the need of the hour. Motivating young minds to ideate, innovate, incubate should be the top priority of every academic institute. This is the motto for Carbon Zero Challenge”

Date: 10th June 2019 Publication: Puthiya Thalamurai Edition: Electronic Journalist: Ms Aarthi Professor: Prof Indumathi Nambi Headline: சென்னன ஐஐ羿뾿ல் ꯁ鎿ய ச ா펿ல்ꏁட்பக் கண்காட்殿(New Technology Exhibition at Chennai IIT) URL: https://youtu.be/UCwNbBF8UPk

சென்னன ஐஐ羿뾿ல் ꯁ鎿ய ச ா펿ல்ꏁட்பக் கண்காட்殿(New Technology Exhibition at Chennai IIT)

Date: 9th June 2019 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT-Madras teams win carbon zero challenge URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2019/06/08/iit-madras-teams-win- carbon-zero-challenge/

Date: 12th June 2019 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT hosts second edition of carbon zero challenge

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: M T Saju Headline: IIT meets Agama to restore ancient Cuddalore temple URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-meets-agama-to-restore- ancient-cuddalore-temple/articleshow/69731959.cms

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M to offer Ph.D fellowship

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Mahesh V Panchagnula Headline: ANSYS to support PhD fellowship program in IIT Madras URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/ansys-to-support-phd- fellowship-program-in-iit-madras/articleshow/69876844.cms

ANSYS to support PhD fellowship program in IIT Madras

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras announced a PhD Fellowship that the institute claims is set to accelerate research across industries through a five-year programme. The new course is funded by ANSYS – a US-based engineering software developing firm. The focus of the course will be on healthcare, environmental sustainability, conservation of resources or other socially relevant aspects of technology.

The collaboration was commemorated with an event at the IIT-Madras campus earlier this month (June 11, 2019) in the presence of dean international and alumni affairs, IIT Madras, Mahesh V Panchagnula and area VP – India and South Asia Pacific, ANSYS, Rafiq Somani.

The area vice-president Somani said, “Through this Ph.D fellowship program in IIT Madras, ANSYS is furthering its commitment to support research and innovation in India. ANSYS’ current focus is on three core areas: electrification, 5G and CFD. ANSYS will provide the necessary resources that are needed for these students to deliver the latest advancements in these socially-relevant sectors for the future.”

Panchagnula said, “It is a natural fit for a leading engineering simulation and analysis company like ANSYS to partner with a leading research institution like IIT Madras. We look forward to growing this collaboration.”

ANSYS is partnering with IIT Madras as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to fund projects mainly in helping the cause of the environment, enhancing education as well as any socially-relevant aspects addressed directly or indirectly by use of technology.

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Mahesh V Panchagnula Headline: IIT-Madras launched new PhD programme funded by US-based ANSYS URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/iit-madras-launched-new-phd- programme-funded-by-us-based-ansys-5790888/

IIT-Madras launched new PhD programme funded by US-based ANSYS

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Mahesh V Panchagnula Headline: IIT-M collaborates with US company for PhD fellowship URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2019/jun/21/iit-m- collaborates-with-us-company-for-phd-fellowship-1993133.html

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Mahesh V Panchagnula Headline: ANSYS partners with ITT-M to launch PhD research programme

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: UNI Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Ph.D fellowship prog to accelerate research at IIT-M URL: http://www.uniindia.com/ph-d-fellowship-prog-to-accelerate-research-at-iit- m/south/news/1637978.html

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: BW Education Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods To Extract Methane From Ice-Like Cages Found Along The Indian Continental Coastline URL: http://bweducation.businessworld.in/article/IIT-Madras-Researchers-Study- Methods-To-Extract-Methane-From-Ice-Like-Cages-Found-Along-The-Indian- Continental-Coastline/20-06-2019-172140/

IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods To Extract Methane From Ice-Like Cages Found Along The Indian Continental Coastline

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Researchers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates. Promising results from their research have been published in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy recently.

There has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called ‘Gas hydrates,’ which are present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines. Hydrates are particularly promising methane sources in India because nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lie untapped in these cages within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone. This is 1,500 times more than the country's present gas reserve.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India, reports that Krishna-Godhavari basin and Andaman Basin have large amounts of gas hydrates. This IIT Madras research towards developing techniques to extract methane from gas hydrates can enable indigenous supply of natural gas and potentially lighten the nation’s natural gas import burden.

The research is being headed by Dr. Jitendra Sangwai, Professor (Petroleum Engineering), Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, who studies state-of-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India, and includes Research Scholars Mr. Pawan Gupta and Mr. Vishnu C. His research is being funded by IIT Madras and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.

Speaking about the importance of this research, Dr Jitendra Sangwai said, “Research is underway around the world to develop methods to extract methane from gas hydrates from both clayey and sand-dominated reservoirs. The Krishna-Godhavari basin is a clayey reservoir while the off-shore Indian peninsular ones are a mix of both clayey and sandy. As gas hydrates are comparatively immobile and impermeable, they need to be dissociated into their constituent gas and water before the methane recovery from hydrate reservoirs is possible”.

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation, namely - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection. Dr. Sangwai’s team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

In their study on thermal stimulation and depressurization, the IIT Madras research team reported that the combination of the two processes is more efficient for methane production from clayey hydrate reservoir than either, individually. This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir. For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multistep depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurization.

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in near future.

The IIT Madras Research team also studied polymer flooding for the extraction of methane from hydrates. This method is already used for oil recovery from matured crude oil fields. In this process, water, made viscous with a polymer, is injected into the field to force out the oil. Polymer flooding helps in establishing a stable waterfront at the water-oil interface and improves the sweep efficiency of the reservoir. Polymer flooding has not yet been applied to methane recovery from gas hydrates.

“Information on the dissociation kinetics of methane hydrate and the effect of the molecular weight of polymers is necessary for the successful use of polymer flooding for gas production from hydrate reservoirs,” write the researchers in their paper, of the motivation to study this process. The researchers report that the eco-friendly polymer, polyethylene glycol-200 is best suited for extracting methane from hydrate. The low freezing point of PEG-200 (~65 C), makes it a good polymer to be used in hydrate- bearing zones with low reservoir temperatures.

It is believed that energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense, possibly exceeding the combined energy content of all other known fossil fuels. “Controlled extraction of methane from gas hydrates can not only meet the enormous demand for energy all over the world but can also reduce detrimental geological release of greenhouse gas into the environment from these sources”, said Dr. Sangwai.

Date: 21st June 2019 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: Pride of the place URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2019/06/20/pride-of-the-place/

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 18 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT-M forum recommends multilingual digital payment apps URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/iit-m-forum- recommends-multilingual-digital-payment-apps/articleshow/69933820.cms

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kolkata / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page No: 10 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M led MPFI moots multilingual apps to boost digital payments

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: MPFI moots multilingual apps to increase inclusiveness in digital payments in India URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/mpfi-moots-multilingual-apps- to-increase-inclusiveness-in-digital-payments-in-india/articleshow/69927190.cms

MPFI moots multilingual apps to increase inclusiveness in digital payments in India

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) has called for developing multilingual payment applications, customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages. This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country. At present, not all official languages are offered as 'language options' on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment applications.

IIT-M faculty Dr. Gaurav Raina was elected as the Chairman of MPFI, which is a joint initiative of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), IIT Madras. Started in 2006, MPFI's mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services for everyone in India.

Highlighting the important aspects of the recommendations made to the RBI, Prof. Gaurav Raina, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Chairman, MPFI, said, "The MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives for strengthening the digital payments space, and adding confidence and trust in the Indian consumer, including:

(i) User and Merchant perspective

(ii) Regulation, methods and processes

(iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS.

Further Prof Gaurav Raina added, "Most MPFI members feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for the different modes of digital payments among users and merchants, and also about best practices for user's security. The MPFI can help by creating videos in different official languages to spread awareness on digital payments. These videos can then be used by all stakeholders in the ecosystem."

Other key recommendations of the MPFI include focussing on increasing women consumers and using voice-based features in Mobile Apps. The positioning of mobile internet, especially towards payments, may need judicious advertising within the social and cultural context.

How will this project bring change? Voice should start playing a key role, at least in the transaction part of the payment. This will enhance usability, and also reduce transaction time. The Forum also pointed out that for a certain fraction of Indians, the current e-commerce symbols may be confusing and this reduces their comfort levels to transact online. Simple and easy navigation and user interfaces that use speech rather than text could help.

Among the key inputs from users and merchants is that it was important to reduce overall costs for merchants while designing the mobile applications in such a way that it is lightweight and minimizes the process flow to reduce data usage. There should also be clearly communicated guidelines for fees that are charged by banks and payment operators for various digital payment services.

Further, MPFI also called for all stakeholders to work towards developing an ecosystem that fosters the adoption of digital payments. This can include developing open source designs for point of sale solutions (hardware and software) and book-keeping software.

Among the key recommendations of the MPFI in Rules and Regulations include: It will be useful to allow seamless interoperability with a choice to consumers and entities for all non-banks, both from the issuer and the acquirer perspective.

With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers.

There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters.

Wider adoption of techniques from data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence should be used across the payments industry. There should be greater awareness and use of techniques and developments from AI that are most suited for digital payments. These emerging and modern techniques could be particularly beneficial for the scaling of solutions that are intended for financial inclusion.

Having the feature of recurring payments, in UPI, will greatly increase the usage of the platform.

The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT Madras initiates better digital payments methods in India URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-initiates- better-digital-payments-methods-in-india-1555168-2019-06-24

IIT Madras initiates better digital payments methods in India

(i) User and Merchant perspective

(ii) Regulation, methods and processes

(iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS.

With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers.

There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters.

Having the feature of recurring payments, in UPI, will greatly increase the usage of the platform.

The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission. Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: BW Education Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT Madras Submitted Recommendations To RBI For Strengthening Of Digital Payments Space In India URL: http://bweducation.businessworld.in/article/IIT-Madras-Submitted- Recommendations-To-RBI-For-Strengthening-Of-Digital-Payments-Space-In-India/24- 06-2019-172305/

IIT Madras Submitted Recommendations To RBI For Strengthening Of Digital Payments Space In India

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) has called for developing multilingual payment applications, customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages. This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country. At present, not all official languages are offered as ‘language options’ on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment applications.

IIT-M faculty Gaurav Raina was elected as the Chairman of MPFI, which is a joint initiative of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), IIT Madras. Started in 2006, MPFI’s mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services for everyone in India.

Highlighting the important aspects of the recommendations made to the RBI, Gaurav Raina, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Chairman, MPFI, said, “The MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives for strengthening the digital payments space, and adding confidence and trust in the Indian consumer. They include (i). User and Merchant perspective, (ii). Regulation, methods and processes, and (iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS”.

He added, “Most MPFI members feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for the different modes of digital payments among users and merchants, and also about best practices for user’s security. The MPFI can help by creating videos in different official languages to spread awareness on digital payments. These videos can then be used by all stakeholders in the ecosystem”.

Voice should start playing a key role, at least in the transaction part of the payment. This will enhance usability, and also reduce transaction time. The Forum also pointed out that for a certain fraction of Indians, the current e-commerce symbols may be confusing and this reduces their comfort levels to transact online. Simple and easy navigation and user interfaces that use speech rather than text could help.

Among the key recommendations of the MPFI in Rules and Regulations include:

It will be useful to allow seamless interoperability with a choice to consumers and entities for all non-banks, both from the issuer and the acquirer perspective. With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers. There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters. Wider adoption of techniques from data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence should be used across the payments industry. There should be greater awareness and use of techniques and developments from AI that are most suited for digital payments. These emerging and modern techniques could be particularly beneficial for the scaling of solutions that are intended for financial inclusion. Having the feature of recurring payments, in UPI, will greatly increase the usage of the platform. The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT-M think-tank suggests multilingual for promoting digital URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/iit-m-think-tank-suggests- multilingual-for-promoting-digital-119062401001_1.html

IIT-M think-tank suggests multilingual for promoting digital

Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) of IIT-M has submitted the recommendations to RBI's Deepening Digital Payments Chairman Nandan Nilekani, an institute release said.

This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country, it said.

"We feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for different modes of digital payments among users and merchants," MPFI Chairman and IIT-M faculty Gaurav Raina was quoted as saying.

MPFI's mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile based financial services for everyone in India.

"These recommendations were made to Mr Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Committee, on the Deepening of Digital Payments," the statement said.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: UNI Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: MPFI urges RBI to develop payment solutions with speech features URL: http://www.uniindia.com/~/mpfi-urges-rbi-to-develop-payment-solutions-with- speech-features/States/news/1641955.html

MPFI urges RBI to develop payment solutions with speech features

This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country. At present, not all official languages are offered as ‘language options’ on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment applications.

MPFI, which played an early and key role in developing interoperability and security standards for the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and later, the UPI, submitted these recommendations to Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Committee, on the Deepening of Digital Payments. IIT-M faculty Dr Gaurav Raina was elected as the Chairman of MPFI, which is a joint initiative of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), IIT Madras. Started in 2006, MPFI’s mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services for everyone in India. Highlighting the important aspects of the recommendations made to the RBI, Prof. Gaurav Raina, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Chairman, MPFI, said, “The MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives for strengthening the digital payments space, and adding confidence and trust in the Indian consumer. They include (i). User and Merchant perspective, (ii). Regulation, methods and processes, and (iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS.”

Further Prof Gaurav Raina added, “Most MPFI members feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for the different modes of digital payments among users and merchants, and also about best practices for user’s security. The MPFI can help by creating videos in different official languages to spread awareness on digital payments. These videos can then be used by all stakeholders in the ecosystem.” Other key recommendations of the MPFI include focussing on increasing women consumers and using voice-based features in Mobile Apps. The positioning of mobile internet, especially towards payments, may need judicious advertising within the social and cultural context.

Among the key recommendations of the MPFI in Rules and Regulations include:

Ø It will be useful to allow seamless interoperability with a choice to consumers and entities for all non-banks, both from the issuer and the acquirer perspective.

Ø With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers.

Ø There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters.

Ø Wider adoption of techniques from data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence should be used across the payments industry. There should be greater awareness and use of techniques and developments from AI that are most suited for digital payments. These emerging and modern techniques could be particularly beneficial for the scaling of solutions that are intended for financial inclusion.

Ø Having the feature of recurring payments, in UPI, will greatly increase the usage of the platform. Ø The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Business World Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: MPFI Moots Multilingual Apps To Increase Inclusiveness In Digital Payments In India URL: http://www.businessworld.in/article/MPFI-Moots-Multilingual-Apps-To-Increase- Inclusiveness-In-Digital-Payments-In-India/24-06-2019-172293/

MPFI Moots Multilingual Apps To Increase Inclusiveness In Digital Payments In India

Among the key recommendations of the MPFI in Rules and Regulations include:

Ø It will be useful to allow seamless interoperability with a choice to consumers and entities for all non-banks, both from the issuer and the acquirer perspective.

Ø With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers.

Ø There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters.

Ø The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Times Now Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT-Madras think-tank suggests multilingual for promoting digital payments URL: https://www.timesnownews.com/education/article/iit-madras-think-tank- suggests-multilingual-for-promoting-digital-payments/442619

IIT-Madras think-tank suggests multilingual for promoting digital payments

Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) of IIT-M has submitted the recommendations to RBI's Deepening Digital Payments Chairman Nandan Nilekani, an institute release said.

This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country, it said. "We feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for different modes of digital payments among users and merchants," MPFI Chairman and IIT-M faculty Gaurav Raina was quoted as saying.

MPFI's mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile based financial services for everyone in India. "These recommendations were made to Mr Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Committee, on the Deepening of Digital Payments," the statement said.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: Call for developing multilingual payment apps URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2019/jun/25/call-for- developing-multilingual-payment-apps-1994850.html

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Devdicourse Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT-M think-tank suggests multilingual for promoting digital URL: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/572442-iit-m-think-tank- suggests-multilingual-for-promoting-digital

IIT-M think-tank suggests multilingual for promoting digital

To promote inclusiveness and extend the reach of digital payments, a think tank in IIT- Madras has called for developing payment applications, customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages. Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) of IIT-M has submitted the recommendations to RBI's Deepening Digital Payments Chairman Nandan Nilekani, an institute release said.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Dinamani Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: 羿玿ட்டல் பண பரிவர் ் னனக்埁 பன்சமா펿 செய쮿(Multilingual Processor for Digital Money Transaction) URL: https://bit.ly/2xbHifI

羿玿ட்டல் பண பரிவர் ் னனக்埁 பன்சமா펿 செய쮿

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M suggests multilingual for promoting digital payments

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: Digital payments Forum moots multilingual apps URL: https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/2019/06/25044352/1153471/Digital-payments- Forum-moots-multilingual-apps.vpf

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Business Sport Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: MPFI Moots Multilingual Apps To Increase Inclusiveness In Digital Payments In India URL: https://www.business-support-network.org/indiabiz/mpfi-moots-multilingual- apps-to-increase-inclusiveness-in-digital-payments-in-india/

MPFI Moots Multilingual Apps To Increase Inclusiveness In Digital Payments In India

IIT Madras faculty led MPFI moots multilingual apps

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT M) Faculty led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) has called for developing multilingual payment applications, customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages. This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country. At present, not all official languages are offered as ‘language options’ on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment applications.

Commenting on the development, Prof. Gaurav Raina, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Chairman, MPFI, said, “The MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives for strengthening the digital payments space, and adding confidence and trust in the Indian consumer. They include (i). User and Merchant perspective, (ii). Regulation, methods and processes, and (iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS.”

Also Read: IIT Madras Collaborates with GE to establish India’s first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART Lab IIT M faculty Dr. Gaurav Raina was elected as the Chairman of MPFI, which is a joint initiative of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), IIT Madras.

Key recommendations of MPFI It will be useful to allow seamless interoperability with a choice to consumers and entities for all non-banks, both from the issuer and the acquirer perspective. With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers. There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters. Wider adoption of techniques from data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence should be used across the payments industry. There should be greater awareness and use of techniques and developments from AI that are most suited for digital payments. These emerging and modern techniques could be particularly beneficial for the scaling of solutions that are intended for financial inclusion. Having the feature of recurring payments, in UPI, will greatly increase the usage of the platform. The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission. Also Read: IIT Madras Researchers developing indigenous processes for efficient recovery of oil from mature offshore wells in India Other recommendations Other key recommendations of the MPFI include focussing on increasing women consumers and using voice-based features in Mobile Apps. The positioning of mobile internet, especially towards payments, may need judicious advertising within the social and cultural context.

Also Read: IIT Madras & Madras Dyslexia Association launch Free Online Program to train Primary School Teachers “Most MPFI members feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for the different modes of digital payments among users and merchants, and also about best practices for user’s security. The MPFI can help by creating videos in different official languages to spread awareness on digital payments. These videos can then be used by all stakeholders in the ecosystem,” said Prof Raina

Started in 2006, MPFI’s mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services for everyone in India.

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: Construction World Edition: Magazine Page No:64-68 Journalist: Seraphina D'souza Professor: Prof Meher Prasad Headline: Sustainable Rapid Affordable

Date: 25th June 2019 Publication: The Better India Edition: Online Journalist: Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk Professor: Prof Venkatesh Balasubramanian Headline: How Tamil Nadu Has Become a Role Model in Reducing Road Accident Deaths URL: https://www.thebetterindia.com/186803/tamil-nadu-road-accidents-iit- supreme-court-india/

How Tamil Nadu Has Become a Role Model in Reducing Road Accident Deaths

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court-appointed three-member road safety committee led by Justice (retd) KS Radhakrishnan praised Tamil Nadu’s efforts in reducing fatalities in road accidents, and the numbers don’t lie.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, out of 1,47,913 accident deaths in 2017 across the country, 16,517 took place in Tamil Nadu. In other words, the state accounted for nearly 11% of all road fatalities in the country. In the following year, the number of deaths fell to 12,213. This is a drop of 24.39%.

The decrease is all thanks to the efforts of critical stakeholders, including: 1) The police department, which seeks to enforce the rules.

2) The health department, which seeks to ensure that systems are in place to deal with emergency trauma care and helping people access these critical services.

3) The transport department, which seeks to ensure quality in providing licences and fit vehicles.

4)The highways department, which seeks to oversee the conditions on the road and transport department deciding on who obtains a vehicle and whether it receives a fitness certificate.

In all these avenues, policy decisions were being taken based on rigorous data analytics. In addition to this, the reason why Tamil Nadu succeeded was that all stakeholder departments worked as an integrated entity, particularly at the field level. Avinashi-Tirupur-Palladam State Highway 19. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Representational Image: Avinashi-Tirupur-Palladam State Highway 19. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) “At the end of the day, you need to save lives. Every resource that can work towards saving lives should be available at the time and place when required. This involves deep understanding of the processes, improving them based on data and more importantly having people on ground who actually implement them,” says Professor Venkatesh Balasubramanian of the Engineering Design Department, IIT Madras and Adviser, Tamil Nadu Accident & Emergency Care Initiative (TAEI), Government of Tamil Nadu, speaking to The Better India.

One of the steps that authorities took was to divide roads in 2 km grids to map accident hotspots in the state. Collecting further data on road accidents, it was then uploaded onto an application called the Tamil Nadu Geographical Information System.

Authorities identified the deadliest points across the state, which accounted for nearly 40% of all road fatalities and shared all this information with the police. This was also used for a variety of improvisations starting from positioning ambulances to identifying locations for TAEI Centres (public hospitals equipped with a high dependency ward and a multidisciplinary critical unit) in the State.

What authorities also found was that even though the numbers showed that 70% of the cases were recorded as “driver’s fault,” there was a lot more that met the eye, specifically, a correlation between the size of the roads and incidences of road accidents.

With bigger roads came a higher chance of road accidents. Speaking to the Times of India, transport commissioner C Samayamoothy says that 37% of road fatalities took place on national highways, 34% on state highways and 19% of major district roads.

Naturally, these are spaces where motorists tend to speed up.

Responding to this data, the authorities built more speed breakers, signages and increased police patrol presence to dissuade motorists from speeding.

More importantly, with the data in hand, authorities also had ambulances from the 108 service waiting near these accident-prone zones on standby with the average response time improved to 13 minutes in cities and 17 minutes in rural areas across the State. With the 108 app in place, callers didn’t have to describe their precise location to seek help. On the dashboard of the ambulance driver, the 108 app would help mark out the exact location of the accident.

The 108 call centres used technology solutions like dual-tone multi-frequency signalling (DTMF) to improve services. When linked to computers in the call centre, DTMF devices help identify their location. This information is then sent to an ambulance driver who will reach the spot within minutes. The caller does not require an internet connection or identify his exact location. The 108 Ambulance System (Source: Wikimedia Commons) The 108 Ambulance System (Source: Wikimedia Commons) However, an internet connection is necessary for the GPS-enabled ambulances. What this system does well is identify the caller’s location even though the latter may not have an internet connection, send information to him/her via SMS, and a link to the 108 app installed in the ambulance driver’s smartphone with all necessary information.

However, the biggest difference has come in how patients receive treatment at hospitals.

Here, the authorities undertook major structural changes, starting with developing strict protocols to reduce the number of trauma-related deaths in hospitals.

The challenge begins from the moment the patient arrives at the hospital. The patient is immediately slotted under a particular category depending on the nature of the injury.

For example, if it’s a head injury, the patient is sent for a CT scan under five minutes, while the radiology report is in the hands of a doctor under 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, there is another team clearing the paperwork, acquiring information about the accident from the police, paramedics attending to the patient or relatives.

Consequently, in many of the hospitals, they have also increased the number of available beds in the emergency ward.

“In my opinion, the biggest change is how Tamil Nadu has set up its trauma care system. It was innovation, and not money driven. To bring about positive results one could work only on 3 things. Change the mindset on how things are done, recalibrate the process and help skill-up the people involved in the care process. Everybody has a clear role and must perform it. Those occupying leadership positions in hospitals do a terrific job to make this a reality,” says Professor Venkatesh. For representational purposes only. (Source: Satyamev Jayate) For representational purposes only. (Source: Satyamev Jayate) “A simple innovation brought by the TAEI team was to get the receiving hospitals prepared for an incoming patient. This patient arrival system was effectively implemented with the help of a dedicated cell phone provided to all the TAEI centres, a robust SOP and constant tracking mechanism. This advance information (pre-arrival intimation) provided just a few minutes earlier allows the receiving TAEI centre to get ready for the patient and deliver quality care at a faster pace. This process improvement reduces the delay in care delivery from the time patient enters. Everyone knows their jobs—how to handle the crowd, how to ensure all the resources are available for the quickest care, etc. After treatment, hospitals maintain a registry, which keeps a daily record of how many people were brought in, treated, what stage of their treatment, etc. There is a robust reporting process by the TAEI team. Every evening by 6 PM there is a daily digest of trauma and emergency care status in the State,” he adds.

According to this March 2019 report in The Hindu:

“TAEI integrated 26 government medical college hospitals, 31 district headquarter hospitals and 21 government hospitals working in strategic locations across the state. Every TAEI centre has a designated trauma nodal officer and nurse coordinators on duty at all times. According to health officials, earlier, one had to rush the victim to the nearest hospital for making an entry of accident report and only then, the victim would be taken to a district hospital or big hospital. In the new system, each hospital has trained staff who are skilled and protocols for management established. This not only helps give good care but also cut various delays.”

However, there is also the basic enforcement of rules like a rising crackdown on drunk driving, speeding and other violations like not wearing a helmet or seatbelt.

Last year, for example, the Chennai Traffic Police booked 24 lakh cases, collecting nearly Rs 27 crore from these violators, including Rs 4 crore from those not wearing helmets.

Having said that, this only touches the surface.

There are thousands of violations everyday that go unnoticed, or rule breakers are let go because there is a shortfall in traffic police personnel. Speaking to the Times of India, M Radhakrishnan, the founder of a non-profit called Thozhan, which works on road safety, the city has 4,000 traffic police personnel posts, of which 500 remain vacant. Making matters worse, there are questions about how they are deployed, often overseeing VIP events.

However, the police have effectively recognised this issue, seeking to address it by pushing for better technology. For example, the city traffic police earlier this year inaugurated a ‘contactless enforcement system’ with assistance from state-of-the- heart CCTV cameras. (Source: Facebook/Chennai Traffic Police) (Source: Facebook/Chennai Traffic Police) Under this system, those who violate traffic rules are caught on camera which contains an Automatic Number Plate Recognition software.

This captures the vehicle registration number, following which a challan is sent along with a video grab of their violation to their homes. How much does this system make up for the shortfall of traffic police personnel remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the city police also launched an app called ‘GCTP citizen service,’ which allows the general public to upload their complaints or traffic violations they witness in real time. However, there are also concerns about the state of roads, which has found its way to the Madras High Court.

Finally, one must stress the requirement for a separate lane for ambulances on the roads for faster transport of accident victims to nearby hospitals and trauma care centres.

Nonetheless, the reasons for the state’s success is clear.

“What Tamil Nadu has done is to follow a structured system and data-driven approach. In dealing with any road accident, multiple departments come into play before, during, and after the event. But their singular mission is to save lives. These departments were compelled to do better based on the data they possess. This surge towards improving the system came from the top in each of the stakeholder Departments. There is a focus on continual learning and improvement by learning from experts from around the world. The entire political, police, bureaucratic leadership and field level operatives came together to address these key concerns holistically,” says Professor Venkatesh.

Date: 24th June 2019 Publication: Rajasthan Patrika Edition: Chennai Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Headline: A train runs in vacuum tube and that reaches in two hours from Delhi to Chennai

Date: 26th June 2019 Publication: Techie Expert Edition: Online Journalist: Srikanth Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: Multilingual Apps to increase inclusiveness in Digital Payments in India URL: https://www.techiexpert.com/multilingual-apps-to-increase-inclusiveness-in- digital-payments-in-india/

Multilingual Apps to increase inclusiveness in Digital Payments in India

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) has called for developing multilingual payment applications, customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages. This is a crucial component to increase inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payments in the country. At present, not all official languages are offered as ‘language options’ on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment applications.

IIT-M faculty Dr. Gaurav Raina was elected as the Chairman of MPFI, which is a joint initiative of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), IIT Madras. Started in 2006, MPFI’s mission is to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services for everyone in India.

Highlighting the important aspects of the recommendations made to the RBI, Prof. Gaurav Raina, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Chairman, MPFI, said, “The MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives for strengthening the digital payments space, and adding confidence and trust in the Indian consumer. They include (i). User and Merchant perspective, (ii). Regulation, methods and processes, and (iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS.”

Among the key recommendations of the MPFI in Rules and Regulations include:

It will be useful to allow seamless interoperability with a choice to consumers and entties for all non-banks, both from the issuer and the acquirer perspective.

With Digital Payments, consumers will start generating a lot of data. It is important to have clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing, as that promotes trust among consumers.

There should be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across a variety of security parameters.

Having the feature of recurring payments, in UPI, will greatly increase the usage of the platform.

The IT Act should be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining to data protection, storage and transmission.

Date: 26th June 2019 Publication: Jagran Josh Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: IIT Madras begins better digital payment methods in India URL: https://www.jagranjosh.com/news/iit-madras-begins-better-digital-payment- methods-in-india-150032

IIT Madras begins better digital payment methods in India

The Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) requested for developing multilingual payment applications, customer support and grievance amendments in multiple Indian languages. This is an important component which will increase the inclusiveness and the reach of mobile and digital payment in the country. Presently, not all the official languages are offered as language options on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment applications.

The MPFI which has played a crucial role in developing interoperability and security standards for the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and later on the UPI submitted the above-mentioned recommendations to the Chairman Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Committee Nandan Nilekani.

Dr. Gaurav Raina a faculty of IIT Madras was elected as the chairman of the MPFI, which is a joint initiative of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), IIT Madras. The MPFI which started in 2006 has a mission to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services accessible to everyone in India.

Prof Gaurav Raina while throwing light on the important aspects of the recommendations made to the RBI said that the MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives to strengthen the digital payment space and add confidence and trust to the Indian consumer. The three perspectives include User and Merchant perspectives, Regulation, methods and process, and standards for transactions through mediums like SMS.

Changes to be brought in

The changes to be brought about in the current online payment system have been pointed out. Voice should play an important role in the transaction part of the payment. This will increase usability and also reduce the transaction time. The forum also mentioned that for a certain fraction of citizens the present e-commerce symbols may be confusing which reduced their comfort level for conducting transactions online. Simple and easy steps for navigation and user-friendly interface which use speech rather than text will be helpful.

The important inputs given by users and merchants is to reduce the overall costs for merchants while designing the mobile applications in such a way that it is lightweight and minimizes the flow in order to reduce data usage. The need for clearly communicated guidelines for fees charged by the banks and payment operators for the different online payment services should also be available.

Furthermore, the MPFI has also called for all the stakeholders to work towards developing an ecosystem that helps the adoption of digital payments. These include developing open source designs for point of sale solutions (hardware and software) and book-keeping software.

Recommendations of Rules by MPFI

The MPFI has recommended that there should be clear and transparent guidelines on data sharing which will increase the trust among the consumers. There should also be an agency to certify financial applications and websites across the different security parameters.

Wider adoption of techniques from data science; machine learning and artificial intelligence should also be used across the payment industry. It is also recommended to have a greater awareness and also use techniques and developments from AI which are most suited for digital payments.

There should be an availability of features for recurring payments in UPI which will greatly increase the usage of the digital payment platform. The IT Act should also be reviewed for regulatory safeguards pertaining o data protection, storage and transmission.

Date: 26th June 2019 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Gaurav Raina Headline: Soon UPI Interface May Support More Regional Languages, As IIT Madras Led MPFI Makes Recommendations URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/soon-upi-interface-may-support-more-regional- languages-as-iit-madras-led-mpfi-makes-recommendations

Soon UPI Interface May Support More Regional Languages, As IIT Madras Led MPFI Makes Recommendations

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) Faculty-led Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) has called for developing payment applications, customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages to increase the inclusiveness and reach of the digital payments in India, reports India Today.

The MPFI, which is a joint initiative of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) and the Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI) of IIT- M, submitted these recommendations to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Deepening Digital Payments Committee chairman Nandan Nilekani, an institute release said.

At present, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) does not offer all the official languages of the country under the ‘language options’ on its platform.

IIT-M Faculty Dr Gaurav Raina is the chairman of the MPFI, which was started in 2006 with a mission to enable mobile payments and mobile-based financial services for everyone in India. The forum played an early and key role in developing interoperability and security standards for the Immediated Payment Service (IMPS) and later the UPI.

"We feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for different modes of digital payments among users and merchants," Dr Raina said, as reported by Business Standard.

Date: 26th June 2019 Publication: Mobile World Live Edition: Online Journalist: Chris Donkin Headline: Experts point to payments language barrier in India URL: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/money/news-money/experts-point-to- payments-language-barrier-in-india/

Experts point to payments language barrier in India

Researchers assessing how to improve digital payments uptake in rural India told the country’s central bank services should be provided in a greater number of regional languages, Times of India reported.

Experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras filed the recommendation with a Reserve Bank of India committee, which is conducting a project called Deepening Digital Payments.

Researchers said multilingual options should be included in core payment platforms in addition to related documentation and customer service channels.

The newspaper claimed the majority of payment applications and information on the country’s United Payment Interface, regulated by the central bank, were not available in all of India’s languages.

India’s payments market is one of the most competitive in the world with many huge companies trying to gain a foothold in the sector including Amazon and Google, in addition to local alternatives.

Earlier this year, one of the country’s leading wallet providers Paytm announced it would invest $36 million in extending its service into smaller towns in India. The company has also previously actively targeted expansion into rural and semi-rural areas.

Date: 26th June 2019 Publication: The Statesman Edition: Delhi/Kolkata Page No: 14 Journalist: NA Headline: Extracting Methane

Date: 27th June 2019 Publication: Indian Web Edition: Online Journalist: Vardaan Professor: Prof. Gaurav Raina Headline: India’s Mobile Payment Forum Calls for Multilingual, Speech-based Payment Apps including UPI URL: https://www.indianweb2.com/2019/06/26/indias-mobile-payment-forum-calls- multilingual-speech-based-payment-apps-including-upi/

India’s Mobile Payment Forum Calls for Multilingual, Speech-based Payment Apps including UPI

Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI), India’s umbrella organisation responsible for deploying mobile payments in India, has called for developing multilingual and speech based payment apps. The forum led by IIT-Madras faculty has made recommendation to India’s central bank to include features in payment apps such as customer support and grievance redressal in multiple Indian languages in order to enable financial inclusion i.e making digital payments accessible to all individuals and businesses at affordable costs.

MPFI has submitted these recommendations to Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Committee, on the deepening of digital payments.

Notably, MPFI has played a key role in developing inter-operability and security standards for India’s popular fund transferring service ‘Immediate Payment Service’ (IMPS) and later the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which was built using IMPS only.

Other key recommendations of the MPFI include increasing women consumers and using voice-based features in Mobile Apps. The positioning of mobile internet, especially towards payments, may need judicious advertising within the social and cultural context.

In its recommendations, MPFI emphasize that presence of regional languages is a crucial component towards achieving inclusiveness and increase the help of mobile and digital payments in rural India.

Established in 2006, MPFI is a joint initiative of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) and Rural Technology Business Incubator of IIT Madras. With its latest recommendations, MPFI aims to enable mobile payments, and mobile financial services for everyone in India through secure, efficient and low cost transactions.

For strengthening the digital payments space and adding confidence and trust in the Indian consumer, the MPFI recommendations considered three broad perspectives, which include:

(i) User and Merchant perspective

(ii) Regulation, methods and processes

(iii). Standards for transactions, via channels like SMS.

Chairman of MPFI, Prof. Gaurav Raina, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, said in a statement, “Most MPFI members feel there is still much to be done to increase awareness for the different modes of digital payments among users and merchants, and also about best practices for user’s security.”

“The MPFI can help by creating videos in different official languages to spread awareness on digital payments. These videos can then be used by all stakeholders in the ecosystem,” he said.

Earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its vision document for Payment and Settlement Systems ‘Vision 2021’ detailing RBI’s outlook for the payments space.

The Vision 2021 document lays down 36 specific action points to be adopted during 2019-2021 to improve all aspects of payment systems including innovation in feature phone and USSD-based payments services, internal ombudsman (independent & impartial investigator for consumer complaints) for digital payments, geo-tagging of payment system touch points, enhancing contactless and tokenisation technology, national settlement services for card schemes and increasing adoption of distributed ledger technologies aka Blockchain.

IIT Madras is an research focused Institute

Date: 2nd June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai/Delhi / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Kolkata/Kochi / Mumbai Page No: 13 Journalist: Shubashree Desikan Professor: Prof Pramoda Kumar Nayak Headline: IIT Madras develops material with properties suitable for quantum optoelectronics URL: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/iit-madras-develops-material-with- properties-suitable-for-quantum-optoelectronics/article27399706.ece

Date: 7th June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Delhi/Bangalore/Hyderabad/Chennai / Pune / Bangalore / Kolkata / Kochi / Ahmedabad Page No:13 Journalist: T E Raja Simhan Professor: Prof N Ramesh Babu Headline: IIT-M’s tech development centre gives Indian industries access to cutting- edge technology URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/iit-ms-tech- development-centre-gives-indian-industries-access-to-cutting-edge- technology/article27583346.ece

Date: 12th June 2019 Publication: Financial Express Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kolkata / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh/Hyderabad Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: Future of transport! IIT-Madras students to present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/future-of-transport-iit-madras- students-to-present-hyperloop-concept-to-elon-musk/1604710/

Date: 12th June 2019 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: T E Narasimhan Headline: IIT Madras team to present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk in LA URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/iit-madras-team-to- present-hyperloop-concept-to-elon-musk-in-la-119061100504_1.html

IIT Madras team to present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk in LA

Avishkar Hyperloop, a team of engineering students from IIT Madras, have been shortlisted for the final round of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019 to be held in Los Angeles, California in July 2019. P2P lending firm RupeeCircle will sponsor the group’s mission. The IIT students beat 20 other finalists in the competition.

The concept of Hyperloop was floated by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and has the potential to revolutionise the transportation industry.

The competition itself is sponsored by SpaceX to create awareness and bring the best minds in the world together to work on the concept.

Avishkar Hyperloop team from IIT Madras has cleared the Preliminary Design Briefing among hundreds of participants across the globe and are preparing for the final round to be held in Los Angeles, California.

RupeeCircle Founder and CEO, Ajit Kumar said, “We aim to be at the forefront of technology that would impact the global business landscape and would continue promoting initiatives that can benefit the masses. At this outset, it is a privilege to be a part of this talented and innovative group of people and support them in innovative solutions. As a start-up we are aware of the hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success, and that’s the reason why RupeeCircle decided to team up with Avishkar and support them in the monetary aspect of their mission”.

Date: 12th June 2019 Publication: Zee Biz Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Proud moment! IIT Madras team set to present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk URL:https://www.zeebiz.com/small-business/news-proud-moment-iit-madras-team- set-to-present-hyperloop-concept-to-elon-musk-101951

Proud moment! IIT Madras team set to present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk

P2P lending firm RupeeCircle has announced that it will sponsor IIT Madras team - Avishkar Hyperloop. The team which comprises of IIT Madras students includes engineers and designers who have been shortlisted for the final round of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019 to be held in Los Angeles, California in July 2019. A group of enterprising engineers, designers and business think tanks, the team who works at the Centre For Innovation (CFI) – a student innovation lab at IIT Madras – with the goal of designing and developing a new mode of transport, the Hyperloop.

With this association RupeeCircle will sponsor the student group’s mission to beat 20 other finalists in the competition. RupeeCircle Founder and CEO, Ajit Kumar said that the platform is aware of the challenges faced by innovators and wanted to help with the monetary aspect of their mission.

"We aim to be at the forefront of technology that would impact the global business landscape and would continue promoting initiatives that can benefit the masses. At this outset, it is a privilege to be a part of this talented and innovative group of people nd support them in innovative solutions. As a start-up we are aware of the hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success, and that’s the reason why RupeeCircle decided to team up with Avishkar and support them in the monetary aspect of their mission," he said.

Speaking on the competition and collaboration with RupeeCircle, Pranit Mehta, an IIT Madras graduate, Head - Avishkar Hyperloop Business Team, said, "We are thrilled to be the finalists at SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition and look forward to compete with the best minds in the world at the event. We are also thankful to RupeeCircle who came forward and decided to sponsor us."

The concept of Hyperloop was floated by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX. The competition is sponsored by SpaceX to create awareness and bring the best minds in the world together to work on the concept. Avishkar Hyperloop team from IIT Madras has cleared the Preliminary Design Briefing among hundreds of participants across the globe and are preparing for the final round to be held in Los Angeles, California.

Date: 12th June 2019 Publication: India Education Diary Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: P2P Startup RupeeCircle sponsors IIT Madras team for presenting Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk URL: https://indiaeducationdiary.in/p2p-startup-rupeecircle-sponsors-iit-madras- team-presenting-hyperloop-concept-elon-musk/

P2P Startup RupeeCircle sponsors IIT Madras team for presenting Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk

P2P lending firm RupeeCircle has recently associated itself with Avishkar Hyperloop, a student team of IIT Madras, as a financial partner. Avishkar Hyperloop is a dynamic team of engineers and designers who have been shortlisted for the final round of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019 to be held in Los Angeles, California in July 2019. With this association RupeeCircle will sponsor the student group’s mission to beat 20 other finalists in the competition.

RupeeCircle Founder and CEO, Mr. Ajit Kumar said, “We aim to be at the forefront of technology that would impact the global business landscape and would continue promoting initiatives that can benefit the masses. At this outset, it is a privilege to be a part of this talented and innovative group of people and support them in innovative solutions. As a start-up we are aware of the hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success, and that’s the reason why RupeeCircle decided to team up with Avishkar and support them in the monetary aspect of their mission”.

Speaking on the competition and collaboration with RupeeCircle, Mr. Pranit Mehta, an IIT Madras graduate, Head – Avishkar Hyperloop Business Team, said, “We are thrilled to be the finalists at SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition and look forward to compete with the best minds in the world at the event. We are also thankful to RupeeCircle who came forward and decided to sponsor us.”

Avishkar Hyperloopis comprised of a group of enterprising engineers, designers and business think tanks who work together at the Centre For Innovation (CFI) – a student innovation lab at IIT Madras – with the goal of designing and developing a new mode of transport, the Hyperloop. The concept of Hyperloop was floated by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and has the potential to revolutionize the transportation industry. The competition itself is sponsored by SpaceX to create awareness and bring the best minds in the world together to work on the concept. Avishkar Hyperloop team from IIT Madras has cleared the Preliminary Design Briefing among hundreds of participants across the globe and are preparing for the final round to be held in Los Angeles, California.

Date: 13th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: Inauguration of hyperloop pod

Date: 13th June 2019 Publication: Money Control Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras team to present Hyperloop blueprint to Elon Musk URL: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/iit-madras-team-to-present- hyperloop-blueprint-to-elon-musk-4089001.html

IIT Madras team to present Hyperloop blueprint to Elon Musk

A group of engineering students from IIT Madras -- Avishkar Hyperloop -- have got selected to the final round of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019. The event will be held in July this year in Los Angeles, California. The group of students, who beat 20 other finalists, to present their hyperloop idea, will be sponsored by P2P lending firm RupeeCircle.

Working together at the Center for Innovation (CFI), the student innovation lab in IIT Madras, a group of engineers, designers and business analysts came together to form Avishkar Hyperloop. According to a report by the Business Standard, their aim was to design and develop a new mode of commute -- the hyperloop.

The concept of commuting through hyperloop was the brainchild of billionaire industrialist Elon Musk, who is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk believes that hyperloop has the potential to transform the entire transportation industry.

Notably, the competition is sponsored by SpaceX with the goal of spreading awareness on the idea and invite the best minds from across the world to work on developing the concept.

RELATED NEWS Tesla's Elon Musk becomes 'Daddy DotCom' on Twitter Tesla is serious about a possible record quarter, not so serious about a submarine car The Avishkar Hyperloop team cleared the preliminary design briefing round, leaving behind hundreds of other participants from across the globe. Right now, they are preparing for the final round, which will be held in Los Angeles.

Commenting on the Avishar team’s feat, Ajit Kumar, the founder and CEO of RupeeCircle, said: “We aim to be at the forefront of technology that would impact the global business landscape. Therefore, we believe in promoting initiatives that have the potential to benefit the masses. It is a privilege to be a part of this talented, innovative group and be able to support them in their efforts. As a start-up we are aware of the hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success, and that’s why we decided to back the Avishkar team, by funding their mission.”

Date: 13th June 2019 Publication: News Bytes Edition: Online Journalist: Siddhant Pandey Headline: This IIT-Madras team will present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk URL: https://www.newsbytesapp.com/timeline/India/47395/215116/iit-madras-team- among-hyperloop-pod-competition-finalists

This IIT-Madras team will present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk

Later next month, a team of engineering students from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras would be participating in the final round of the famed Hyperloop Pod Competition in Los Angeles, California.

The competition is sponsored by SpaceX, the aerospace manufacturer founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The team, called Avishkar Hyperloop, will be competing against 20 other finalists from across the world.

Details Avishkar Hyperloop pod can cover Mumbai-Chennai distance in 1 hour Avishkar Hyperloop pod can cover Mumbai-Chennai distance in 1 hour Avishkar Hyperloop is a team of 30 engineers, designers and business leaders who work together at IIT-Madras' student innovation lab- Center For Innovation (CFI).

It was founded by Suyash Singh, a final year M.Tech student at IIT-Madras. Along with Singh, the team is headed by Ankit Kukadia and Vinit Sharma.

Reportedly, their pod can reach 800kmph and can travel between Mumbai-Chennai in one hour.

Quote Avishkar Hyperloop's pod has a wheel-based model "We will be employing a wheel-based model. Our pod would run on wheels, powered by individual motors and battery packs," Singh told The Logical Indian.

"It is approximately 2.7m in length, resting over a chassis made up of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). We are targeting speeds of 300-350kmph in a distance of 1.5km in a vacuum tube," he added.

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-Madras: Pod Unveiling event of Avishkar Hyperloop, ICSR Auditorium, IIT-Madras URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai- today/article27902469.ece

IIT-Madras: Pod Unveiling event of Avishkar Hyperloop, ICSR Auditorium, IIT-Madras

Pod Unveiling event of Avishkar Hyperloop, ICSR Auditorium, IIT-Madras, 11 a.m

Date: 14 June 2019 TV: NDTV (Live program) - National Time: 8.45 am Duration: 5 mins 19 seconds Journalist: Sam Daniel, Chennai Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Xw_hZt0lI&feature=youtu.be

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: DNA Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Satya Chakravarthy Student: Suyash Headline: India’s Team Avishkar only Asian student group to qualify for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition URL: https://www.dnaindia.com/technology/report-india-s-team-avishkar-only-asian- student-group-to-qualify-for-spacex-hyperloop-pod-competition-2760775

India’s Team Avishkar only Asian student group to qualify for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition

Even as Maharashtra is working with Virgin Hyperloop One to have trials of the Hyperloop project, parallel to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a team comprising of students from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) is making rapid strides with their very own Hyperloop Pod and would be soon battling it out in the finals of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Challenge in California.

Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation, a high-speed train/pod that travels in a near vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach more than 1000km/h.

Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through a white paper - ‘Hyperloop Alpha’. His company SpaceX organises the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation. The finalists’ pods are required to travel at maximum speeds within the vacuum tube, the team with the fastest pod emerges winner and gets to interact with Elon Musk.

This year over 1600 teams from across the globe applied for the challenge, of which Avishkar - the student team from the Centre for Innovation IIT Madras - emerged as one the 21 finalists and is the only team from Asia to do so in the 2019 edition of the competition.

Avishkar’s pod is indigenously designed and developed and is said to be India’s first- ever self-propelled completely autonomous Hyperloop Pod in India.

This is the second attempt for Team Avishkar that comprises of students from various science and engineering related academic backgrounds. The team had earlier applied in 2018 and failed to make it past the second round and did not qualify for the finals, said Suyash, student head, Avishkar.

Speaking at the unveiling event of the Hyperloop Pod, Sivakumar, Dean Students said, “we need to thank Elon musk for making the challenge open to all and our students have taken up the challenge.”

Explaining the technology behind hyperloop, he said, “Current trains or buses or flights have frictional resistance and energy is wasted. Whereas Magnetic levitation is to prevent friction from the ground and the vacuum tube eliminates air drag and friction. So effectively it is a train within a vacuum pipe and the train runs a few inches above the track without making contact and almost eliminating friction”

Our students are ready and they are running tests on the model and we are sure that the hard work will pay off, he added expressing optimism about the team.

Professor Satya Chakravarthy of the Aerospace department said, our students will be going to California and as a part of the competition the pod will be run on a 1-mile long test track. Once this technology is a success it could be scaled up to 15 meters - almost the size of a bus. The team is also testing our pod at a 30-metre long test track here at the campus.

Elaborating on the specifications of the pod, the team members said, “We came up with an electric motor called a Brushless DC motor which is small yet highly powerful and efficient. The battery connects to the motor directly without an inverter and there is no gearbox in the middle, we also tested the motors at higher than 15000RPM.”

The team uses a lightweight carbon fibre body for the chassis and a high-power battery pack that weighs less than 20kgs and provides over 900Amps output power. The pod uses 3 battery packs one each for the motors, sensors and emergency requirements.

On the road ahead for this technology, the team says that once it is proven it could be used as a totally revolutionary mode of transport. With the adequate investment and infrastructure, it could enable travel between Chennai and Bangalore - a distance of around 500 Kms - in less than 30 minutes. "Although we have developed the pod, we will also need to master the vacuum tube technology to completely indigenize it," they said.

The 30-member team and their work has garnered attention with the Central government also having sought additional project related information.

“The most basic challenge is the designing itself, as Hyperloop is very new and we don’t have existing material to refer to, so we had to come up with ideas and concepts and then seek approval from the professors before going further. But we have done several tests on the prototype and are sure that we can achieve great speeds at the competition," said Pranit Mehta Head, marketing and sponsorship team.

After completing more rounds of tests and checks the team is all set to fly to California and prove their mettle when they battle it out with 20 other finalists from across the globe on July 21.

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: Data Quest Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Rupee Circle sponsors IIT Madras team for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019 URL: https://www.dqindia.com/rupeecircle-sponsors-iit-madras-team-spacex- hyperloop-pod-competition-2019/

Rupee Circle sponsors IIT Madras team for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019

RupeeCircle, said to be the first P2P lending firm in India, has recently associated itself with Avishkar Hyperloop, a student team of IIT Madras, as a financial partner. Avishkar Hyperloop is a dynamic team of engineers and designers who have been shortlisted for the final round of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019, to be held in Los Angeles, USA, in July 2019. With this association, RupeeCircle will sponsor the student group’s mission to beat 20 other finalists in the competition.

Ajit Kumar, CEO and founder of RupeeCircle said: “We aim to be at the forefront of technology that would impact the global business landscape and would continue promoting initiatives that can benefit the masses. At this outset, it is a privilege to be a part of this talented and innovative group of people, and support them in their innovative solutions. As a start-up, we are aware of the hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success. That’s the reason why RupeeCircle decided to team up with Avishkar and support them in the monetary aspect of their mission.”

Pranit Mehta, IIT Madras graduate, and head, Avishkar Hyperloop Business Team, said: “We are thrilled to be the finalists at SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition and look forward to compete with the best minds in the world at the event. We are also thankful to RupeeCircle who came forward and decided to sponsor us.”

Avishkar Hyperloop is comprised of a group of enterprising engineers, designers, and business think tanks who work together at the Centre For Innovation (CFI) – a student innovation lab at IIT Madras – with the goal of designing and developing a new mode of transport, the Hyperloop. The concept of Hyperloop was floated by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and has the potential to revolutionize the transportation industry.

The competition itself is sponsored by SpaceX to create awareness and bring the best minds in the world together to work on the concept. The Avishkar Hyperloop team from IIT Madras has cleared the Preliminary Design Briefing among hundreds of participants across the globe and are preparing for the final round.

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: Zee News Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Satya Chakravarthy Student: Suyash Headline: IIT Madras makes it to SpaceX Hyperloop Pod final contest, only Asian team to qualify in 2019 URL: https://zeenews.india.com/india/iit-madras-makes-it-to-spacex-hyperloop-pod- final-contest-only-asian-team-to-qualify-in-2019-2211594.html

IIT Madras makes it to SpaceX Hyperloop Pod final contest, only Asian team to qualify in 2019

The team of students from Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) secured a spot in the top 21 finalists for one of the most anticipated contests in the world – the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Challenge. Avishkar, a team from the Centre for Innovation at the institute, was selected from a pool of 1600 and is also the only Asian team to qualify for the 2019 edition of the challenge.

Avishkar is now focusing on the final stage of the competition and will soon battle it out in the finals of challenge. The vessel designed and developed by them is said to be India’s first-ever self-propelled completely autonomous Hyperloop pod.

What is Hyperloop? The concept of Hyperloop was proposed by a joint team of Tesla and SpaceX, founded by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk. It was conceived as the fifth mode of transportation, the first four being rail, road, water, and air. A high-speed train or pod will travel in a near vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach more than 1000km/hour speed.

Musk first proposed the idea of Hyperloop in 2013 through the white paper - ‘Hyperloop Alpha’. His company SpaceX organizes the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes of pods and encourage student innovation. The finalists’ pods are required to travel at maximum speed within the vacuum tube. The team with the fastest pod is declared as the winner and gets an opportunity to interact with Elon Musk.

One of the proposed Hyperloop stretches between Mumbai and Pune, which is expected to cut the travel time from the current 180 minutes to just 20 minutes. Maharashtra government is already working with British firm Virgin Hyperloop, conducting trials for the same parallel to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Avishkar's Hyperloop Pod

Team Avishkar comprises of 30 students from various science and engineering backgrounds. The team had earlier applied in 2018 but failed to make it past the second round, said Suyash, the student-lead of Avishkar.

Elaborating on the specifications of the pod, the team said, “We came up with an electric motor called a Brushless DC which is small yet highly powerful and efficient. The battery connects to the motor directly without an inverter and there is no gearbox in the middle. We also tested the motor at higher than 15000 RPM.”

The chassis has a lightweight carbon fibre body, assisted by a high-power battery pack that weighs less than 20 kgs and provides over 900 AMP output power. The pod uses three battery packs – one each for motor, sensor and emergency requirements.

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: Polimer NEws Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Prof Satya Chakravarthy Student: Suyash & team Headline: னைபர்쯂ப் ச ா펿ல்ꏁட்பம் ொர்ந் அ鎿நퟀன வாகனம் (Hyperloop technologies' advanced vehicle) URL: https://bit.ly/2wPP3rN

னைபர்쯂ப் ச ா펿ல்ꏁட்பம் ொர்ந் அ鎿நퟀன வாகனம் (Hyperloop technologies' advanced vehicle)

ஹைபர்쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம் சொர்ந் அ鎿நퟀன வொகன ்ஹ தசன்ஹன ஐ.ஐ.羿 மொணவர்கள் அ잿믁கப்ப翁 ்鎿னர்.

அதமரிக்கொힿன் ஸ்பபஸ் எக்ஸ் நி쟁வனம் ஹைபர் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம் அ羿ப்பஹட뾿லொன ꯁ鎿ய கண்翁ꮿ羿ப்ꯁகள் த ொடர்பொன பபொட்羿ஹய நட ்鏁垿ற鏁. உலகம் 믁폁வ鏁뮿쏁ந்鏁 1,500 埁폁க்கள் கலந்鏁தகொண்ட இந் பபொட்羿뾿ல் 21 埁폁க்கள் இ쟁鎿 பபொட்羿க்埁埁鎿 தபற்쟁ள்ளன.

ஆ殿யொힿபலபய தசன்ஹன ஐ.ஐ.羿.ஹயச் பசர்ந் 埁폁 மட்翁பம 埁鎿 தபற்쟁ள்ள鏁. தசன்ஹன ஐ.ஐ.羿.뾿ன் 30 மொணவர்கஹளக் தகொண்ட அힿஷ்கொர் என்ற தபயரிலொன இந் க் 埁폁 ஹைபர் 쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம் சொர்ந் அ鎿பவக வொகன ்鎿ன் மொ鎿ரிஹய அ잿믁கப்ப翁 ்鎿னர். இந் க் 埁폁 அ翁 ் மொ ம் 21- ஆம் ப 鎿 அதமரிக்கொힿல் நஹடதபற உள்ள இ쟁鎿ப் பபொட்羿뾿ல் இந் மொ鎿ரி வ羿வ ்鏁டன் கலந்鏁 தகொள்垿ற鏁.

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: Seithisolai Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: 25 நி뮿ட ்鎿ல் 350km “உலக ொ னன பனட ் சென்னன இனளஞர்கள் “ (travel 350 km in 25 min! world record creating Chennai youngsters ) URL: https://www.seithisolai.com/350km-cross-25-min-chennai-youngsters-create- new-technology.php

25 நி뮿ட ்鎿ல் 350km “உலக ொ னன பனட ் சென்னன இனளஞர்கள் “ (travel 350 km in 25 min! world record creating Chennai youngsters )

அதமரிக்கொힿன் ஸ்பபஸ் எக்ஸ் நி쟁வன ்鎿ன் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்ப அ羿ப்பஹட뾿லொன ꯁ鎿ய கண்翁ꮿ羿ப்ꯁகள் த ொடர்பொன பபொட்羿 நஹடதபற்쟁க் தகொண்羿쏁க்垿ற鏁. உலகம் 믁폁வ鎿쯁ம் இ쏁ந்鏁 1,500 埁폁க்கள் கலந்鏁 தகொண்ட இந் பபொட்羿뾿ல் 21 埁폁க்கள் இ쟁鎿ப்பபொட்羿க்埁埁鎿 தபற்쟁ள்ளனர்.

ஆ殿யொힿபலபய தசன்ஹன ஐஐ羿ஹய பசர்ந் மொணவர்கள் மட்翁பம 埁鎿தபற்쟁ள்ளனர் என் ப鏁 தப쏁ஹமக்埁ரிய நிகழ்வொக க쏁 ப்ப翁垿ற鏁 . தசன்ஹன ஐஐ羿뾿ன் 9 மொணவர்கஹளக் தகொண்ட இந் 埁폁 ஹைப்பர் 쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம் சொர்ந் அ鎿பவக வொகன ்鎿ன் மொ鎿ரிஹய அ잿믁கப்ப翁 ்鎿னர்.

இந் 埁폁வொன鏁 அ翁 ் மொ ம் 20ஆம் ப 鎿 அதமரிக்கொힿல் நஹடதபற உள்ள இ쟁鎿ப் பபொட்羿뾿ல் இந் மொ鎿ரி வ羿வ ்鏁டன் கலந்鏁 தகொள்ள இ쏁க்垿ற鏁 . இந் வொகன ்鎿ன் 殿றப்பப அ ன் அ鎿 பவகம் ொன் உ ொரணமொக தசன்ஹன뾿쮿쏁ந்鏁 தபங்க쿂ர் தசல்வ ற்埁毁மொர் 5 மணி 믁 ல் 6 மணி பநரம் ஆ埁ம் .ஆனொல் இந் ஹைபர் 쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்ப ்ஹ தகொண்翁 இயங்埁ம் வொகனமொன鏁 தவ쟁ம் 25 நி뮿ட ்鎿ல் தசன்쟁ힿ翁ம் என்쟁 த ரிힿக்垿ன்றனர். Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: Edex Live Edition: Online Journalist: Parvathi Benu Professor: Dr Prabhu Rajagopal Student: Divanshu Kumar Headline: This IIT Madras student's robot may soon solve the issue of manual scavenging URL: https://www.edexlive.com/news/2019/jun/14/this-iit-madras-students-robot- may-soon-solve-the-issue-of-manual-scavenging-6604.html

This IIT Madras student's robot may soon solve the issue of manual scavenging

What could a humongous three-legged robot, which could effortlessly make all of us look like lilliputians be doing on the corridor of IIT Madras, we wondered. Is this straight out of a transformer movie? Definitely not. But this was something that could be a solution to a deep-rooted problem in the Indian society — manual scavenging.

Named SEPoy, this robot developed by an IIT Madras student Divanshu Kumar and his guide Dr Prabhu Rajagopal, is designed to go inside the septic tanks and clean the sludge by homogenising it. Divanshu explains its working to us. "The robot can enter the septic tanks and then expand its blades. These blades work like a blender and homogenise the sludge," he says, adding that the sludge can be as hard as a cement brick over time. "Usually, manual scavengers enter the tanks with hammers, which they use to break the sludge. But here, once it is broken, the waste can be sucked out of the tank using a vacuum pump that is fitted on to the robot," he says.

The robot is designed in such a way that only the verticle portion enters the tank and the blades then expanded. The blades are removable and expandable, depending on the width of the tank. The speed of the blade can be adjusted between 60 to 330 amperes. On top of that, it works completely on mechanical power. "We have designed it carefully making sure that only the top part of the robot is electrical. That way, we have avoided the risk of any explosion if the electrical parts come in contact with the poisonous gases inside the tank," says Divanshu.

The vertical height of SEPoy can also be easily changed, depending upon the tank's depth. Also, the robot's control panel is designed in such a way that it can be operated by anyone. "In the next iteration, we're making it completely out of aluminium, hence making it lighter. We are also planning to give the robot wheels, for easier transportation," adds Divanshu. The market cost of this robot will fall somewhere around Rs 15 Lakh.

Date: 14th June 2019 Publication: Edex Live Edition: Online Journalist: Parvathi Benu Professor: Dr Raghunathan Rengaswamy Students: Pooja Kumar, Sumeer Subramani, Aroop G and Niyas Headline: This project by IIT Madras students will tell you the air quality of the roads you drive on URL: https://www.edexlive.com/news/2019/jun/14/this-project-by-iit-madras- students-will-tell-you-the-air-quality-of-the-roads-you-drive-on-6605.html

This project by IIT Madras students will tell you the air quality of the roads you drive on

It's a regular day and you're driving through an unknown area. But that isn't much trouble, hail Google Maps. You know that you'll reach your destination through the fastest route. But what if the map also tells you how polluted the lane that you're about to take is? This would definitely be a blessing if you're someone who suffers from diseases like asthma or bronchitis or if you're travelling with a child. Even for the others, a literal breath of fresh air would cause no harm.

Sounds utopic? Not really. This app will soon be launched, thanks to a group of IIT Madras students. Named Kaatru, which translates to air in Tamil, the app's team measures air pollution using a mobile and modular measurement device in consort. Here's how it works. Multiple measurement devices are placed on vehicles that travel in a particular area, that accurately records the data on air quality, which is used to derive insights using machine learning algorithms. The data can also be used to predict weather outcomes.

"We always wanted to work on a project, that will benefit asthma patients. Depleting air quality is an alarming problem, so we decided to club it together and develop our project," says Sathish Swaminathan, a PhD scholar, who is part of team Kaatru. The team consists of four other members — Pooja Kumar, Sumeer Subramani, Aroop G and Niyas. The team is mentored by Dr Raghunathan Rengaswamy, an IIT Madras professor and Dr Sriram Krishnan, Director, National Grid, USA.

At present, the team is working with Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad to measure the air quality in Gurgaon and to understand it’s implication on pregnancy and child mortality. They also have a pilot project running in some parts of Chennai. "A monitoring device is currently installed on a vehicle that runs along Chennai's Ambattur. We are planning to install more devices on autorickshaws. This will help us get a more accurate reading since they travel through narrow lanes too," says Sathish.

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: DD Podhighai Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S R Chakravarthy Student: Mr Pranit Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146050&repeat_id=0

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Polimer News Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Student: Mr Pranit Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=145998&repeat_id=0

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Vendhar TV Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Student: Mr Pranit Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146054&repeat_id=0

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Jaya Plus Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146052&repeat_id=0

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Raj News Tamil Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Headline: Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146051&repeat_id=0

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S R Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: Only Asian team in the SpaceX contest is from IIT-M URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/only-asian-team-in-the- spacex-contest-is-from-iit-m/article27944651.ece

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Delhi / Hyderabad / Kolkata/Mumbai / Pune / Chennai Page No: 14 Journalist: TE Raja Simhan Professor: Prof S R Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT-M Avishkar Hyperloop team zooms into SpaceX contest final

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satya Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: SpaceX contest: IITM team unveils hyperloop prototype URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/spacex-contest-iitm-team- unveils-hyperloop-prototype/articleshow/69795357.cms

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: The Financial Express Edition:Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kolkata / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M team unveils pod for SpaceX competition

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S R Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT-Madras team's hyperloop pod set for global contest by SpaceX URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2019/jun/15/iit-madras- teams-hyperloop-pod-set-for-global-contest-by-spacex-1990322.html

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Hyderabad / Chennai Page No: 7 Journalist: Yamuna R Professor: Prof S R Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT-Madras team qualifies for global hyperloop pod contest URL: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/150619/iit-madras- team-qualifies-for-global-hyperloop-pod-contest.html

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: WION News Edition: Online Journalist: Siddharth Professor: Prof Satya Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: India’s 'Avishkar' is Asia's only team to qualify for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition URL: https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indias-avishkar-is-asias-only-team-to- qualify-for-spacex-hyperloop-pod-competition-227180

India’s 'Avishkar' is Asia's only team to qualify for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition

As Maharashtra is working with Britain's Virgin Hyperloop to have trials of the Hyperloop project parallel to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a team of students from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) is making rapid strides with their very own Hyperloop Pod. The team will soon be battling it out in the finals of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Challenge in California, United States.

Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation, a high-speed train/pod that travels in a near vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach more than 1000km/h. Elon Musk, founder SpaceX, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through the white paper - ‘Hyperloop Alpha’. His company SpaceX organises the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation. Finalists’ pods are required to travel at maximum speeds within the vacuum tube, the team with the fastest pod emerges winner and gets to interact with Elon Musk.

This year, over 1,600 teams from across the globe applied for the challenge. India's Avishkar emerged in the top 21 finalists and is the only team from Asia to do so in the 2019 edition of the competition.

Avishkar’s pod is indigenously designed and developed and is said to be India’s first- ever self-propelled, completely autonomous Hyperloop Pod in India.

This is the second attempt for team Avishkar that comprises of students from various science and engineering related academic backgrounds. The team had earlier applied in 2018 and failed to make it past the second round and did not qualify for the finals, said Suyash, student's head, Avishkar.

Speaking at the unveiling event of the Hyperloop Pod, Sivakumar, Dean of students said, “we need to thank Elon musk for making the challenge open to all and our students have taken up the challenge”.

Explaining the technology behind hyperloop he said, “current trains or buses or flights have frictional resistance and energy is wasted. Whereas magnetic levitation is to prevent friction from the ground and the vacuum tube eliminates air drag and friction. So effectively it is a train within a vacuum pipe and the train runs a few inches above the track without making contact and almost eliminating friction”.

"Our students are ready and they are running tests on the model and we are sure that the hard work will pay off," he added expressing optimism about the team.

Professor Satya Chakravarthy of the aerospace department said, our students will be going to California and as a part of the competition the pod will be run on a 1-mile long test track. Once this technology is a success it could be scaled up to 15 meters - almost the size of a bus. The team is also testing our pod at a 30-metre long test track here at the campus.

Elaborating on the specifications of the pod, the team members said that, “we came up with an electric motor called a Brushless DC motor which is small yet highly powerful and efficient. The battery connects to the motor directly without an inverter and there is no gearbox in the middle, we also tested the motors at higher than 15000RPM.”

The team uses a lightweight carbon fibre body for the chassis and a high-power battery pack that weigh less than 20 kilograms and provides over 900Amps output power. The pod uses three battery packs one each for the motors, sensors and emergency requirements.

On the road ahead for this technology, the team says that once it is proven, it could then be used as a totally revolutionary mode of transport. With adequate investment and infrastructure, it could enable travel between Chennai and Bangalore - a distance of around 500 kilometres in less than 30 minutes. Although we have developed the pod, we will also need to master the vacuum tube technology to completely indigenize it.

The 30-member team and their work has garnered attention with the central government also having sought additional project related information.

“The most basic challenge is the designing itself as Hyperloop is very new and we don’t have existing material to refer to, so we had to come up with ideas and concepts and then seek approval from the professors before going further. But we have done several tests on the prototype and are sure that we can achieve great speeds at the competition”, said Pranit Mehta head, marketing and sponsorship team.

After completing more rounds of tests, the team is all set to fly to California and prove their mettle when they battle it out with 20 other finalists from across the globe on July 21.

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Infodea Hindi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: आईआईटी मद्रास की आविष्कार हाईपरलपू विश्िस्तरीय स्पेसए啍स मᴂ लेगी हहस्सा(Part of the recipient of the IIT Madras hyperlop world class SpaceX) URL: https://hindi.infodea.in/jobs-and- education/%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%88%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%88%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%80-

आईआईटी मद्रास की आविष्कार हाईपरलपू विश्िस्तरीय स्पेसए啍स मᴂ लेगी हहस्सा

आईआईटी मद्रास मᴂ शक्रु वार को एक संवाददाता स륍मेलन मᴂ संस्थान के वव饍यार्थियⴂ 饍वारा तैयार की गई तकनीक मीडिया के सामने प्रस्ततु ककया गया। यह तकनीक पररवहन के क्षेत्र मᴂ एक नया इततहास कायम करेगी।

यह सब आईआईटी मद्रास के वव饍यार्थियⴂ के आववष्कार हाईपरलपू शोध की वजह से संभव हो पाएगा। आईआईटी मद्रास के प्रोफेसर और आववष्कार हाईपरलपू के संकाय सलाहकार प्रोफेसर िा. एसआर चक्रवती के नेत配ृ व मᴂ यह शोध ककया जा रहा है। इस मौके पर हाईपरलपू पोि को ददखाया गया।

यह पोि अमेररका एयरोस्पेस मꅍै यफु े क्चर एंि स्पेस 絍ांसपोटेशन कंपनी स्पेसएक्स 饍वारा आयोजजत ववश्वस्तर की प्रततयोर्गता मᴂ दहस्सा लेने जा रही है। इस प्रततयोर्गता मᴂ ववश्वभर से 1600 से 煍यादा टीमᴂ दहस्सा लेने जा रही हℂ, जजनमᴂ आईआईटी मद्रास की आववष्कार हाईपरलपू टीम टॉप 21 मᴂ है।

यह टीम पररवहन के क्षेत्र मᴂ ऐसी तकनीक पर काम कर रही है जो भववष्य मᴂ पररवहन को सलु भ, सरल बनाने के साथ अ쥍पकालीन बनाएगी। इसकी मदद से रक्षा, समभार और एयरोस्पेस उ饍योग मᴂ काफी सहयोग ममलेगा।

इस मौके पर िा. एसआर चक्रवती ने कहा यहां तक पहुंचने मᴂ टीम ने काफी संघर्ि ककया है। इस प्रयोग के सफल होने से देश ही नहीं बज쥍क ववश्वभर मᴂ पयिटन के क्षेत्र मᴂ क्रांतत आएगी। आववष्कार हाईपरलपू टीम मᴂ स्टू िᴂट हैि सयु श मसंह है, इस टीम मᴂ अमभर्ेक गगि, आदद配य रानािे, अजजंक्य पवार प्रणीत समेत कई अꅍय लोग भी हℂ।

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Inc42 Edition: Online Journalist: Ribhu Singh Student : Pranit Mehta Headline: IIT-M Team Reaches Final Round Of SpaceX Hyperloop Competition With Its Pod Design URL: https://inc42.com/buzz/iit-m-team-reaches-final-round-of-spacex-hyperloop- competition-with-its-pod-design/

IIT-M Team Reaches Final Round Of SpaceX Hyperloop Competition With Its Pod Design

Avishkar Hyperloop, the team from Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), has reached the final round of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019 being held in Los Angeles (California) this year.

The team constitutes of 25 students — the only Asian team to be qualifying for the final round with 19 other teams.

“There are several deadlines all through the year and the finals begin in July. So in the 2018 competition we managed to clear the filter round and were out of the 47 teams that were chosen from among the 1200-odd competing teams. The preliminary round is when you give an overview for your design and the final round takes care of detailing on how foolproof your pod is,” said Pranit Mehta, one of Avishkar Hyperloop’s team members, Mint reported.

Related Article: Hyperloop India: Understanding The Pitstops And Pitfalls Of Changing Transportation

The team’s pod design is similar to that of an electric vehicle. The idea originated after having worked on a model that ran on levitation and linear-induction motors (type of contactless motor).

“After working on the initial designs and having done research on them, we realized our pods became heavy, so we changed it to the current one. The pod that is going to the competition has been completed and we will soon ship it to the US so that it reaches the competition in time,” Mehta told.

The IIT-M student team at this year of the competition will be locking horns with some of the best teams in the world — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Purdue University, Technical University of Munich, University of Washington, and Queen’s University among others.

The project cost nearly INR 1 Cr to complete — from designing the pod to building it, with P2P (peer-to-peer) lending firm RupeeCircle as a financial partner. The press release sent out by the company’s founder and CEO Ajit Kumar said that the lending firm, as a startup, decided to support the IIT team as it is aware of the hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success.

The competition will take place on July 21st. The competition, as stated by SpaceX, will be judged solely on one criteria: maximum speed with successful deceleration (without crashing), and all pods must be self-propelled. For the competition, teams must use their own communications system and SpaceX will not provide an on-pod communications system, which is otherwise known as the Network Access Panel (NAP). Besides, the pods must be designed and tested to propel themselves within 100 feet of the far end of the tube before stopping. This can happen with a single main run slow crawl after the pod has completed its main run.

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Skill Outlook Edition:online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satya Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://skilloutlook.com/alert/iit-madras-avishkar-hyperloop-unveils-pod-for-the- spacex-competition

IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition

Indian Institute of Technology Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop Team today (14th June 2019) unveiled their Hyperloop Pod, which will compete in the global competition being organized by SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company.

Avishkar Hyperloop is the student team from Centre For Innovation (CFI) – IIT Madras, working on an indigenous design and development for building the first-ever self- propelled, completely autonomous Hyperloop Pod in India. It is one of the Top 21 teams out of 1600+ teams participating globally and the only Asian team to enter the finals of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition 2019.

Speaking about the significance of this achievement, Dr. S.R. Chakravarthy, Faculty Advisor, Avishkar Hyperloop, and Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The team has taken strenuous technical efforts at every stage, and has been quite professional about executing the project. This is an important milestone for the future transportation technology in our country. “

Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation, a high-speed train that travels in a near- vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1000 km/h. Mr. Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through whitepaper – ‘Hyperloop Alpha.’ His company SpaceX organizes the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation.

Select teams build a subscale prototype transport vehicle to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the various aspects of the Hyperloop concept. In this global competition, the final round (testing and evaluation of the actual prototype), takes place at the SpaceX Headquarters in California, U.S. The Fastest Pod wins the Competition.

Speaking about the competition, Mr. Suyash Singh, Student Team Head, Avishkar Hyperloop, said, “The primary factor to decide the winner is the top speed achieved by the Hyperloop Pod in the run in the 1-mile long vacuum tube, installed at the SpaceX headquarters. But, to qualify to the top few teams to be allowed to run through the tube, the design has to go through a lot of checks and scrutiny based on its feasibility, manufacturing possibility and its safety aspects.”

The Pod developed by Avishkaar Team spans about three metres in length and weighs around 120 kgs. The electric propulsion employs BLDC motors and a wheel drive. The team started the design by brainstorming on how the pod would be built, beginning with vehicle kinematics and dynamics, motors, power system and braking, stability, and finally designing the CFRP chassis and structures.

The first step was to select powerful motors that could provide the required traction and a source to power it. The students searched through numerous motors and controllers and a vacuum compatible battery pack, which would best suit the design and constraints. And simultaneously came the challenge of analysing every change in the other subsystems so that it could accommodate the change in speed, mass, forces etc. Avishkaar had to perform a number of iterations and simulations, looking through every available resource that could make their Pod better, keeping in mind the timeline.

They have already been

* Invited to exhibit at FISITA World Automotive Congress 2018 & CII Future Mobility Show 2019,

* Invited to address an International Conference on Energy Storage (ESI) 2019,

* Invited to exhibit Hyperloop technology for Defence purpose at Army Technology Seminar 2019.

Avishkaar will be going ahead with wheel drive for this year’s competition, trying to achieve the highest speed possible. And simultaneously, they are carrying out research on the magnetic levitation and LIM technology. After the competition, they will attempt incorporating the magnetic levitation into the pod and participate in the competition to see how it actually performs alongside others since they expect a lot of teams to develop the levitation pod.

The Students will be working more until they reach a good enough speed for hyperloop, after which they can make changes accordingly for the payload and actual operating situations and start testing on the track which is currently being built. This may take up to some five years or more. Once they reach a level to commercialise the project, the students plan to set up a start-up. Commercialising such a heavy infrastructure project would not be possible without the support of the government and its various agencies. The students plan to discuss these with respective authorities and pave a way forward to develop one of the most futuristic technologies in the world.

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Daily Hunt Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satya Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/skill+outlook-epaper- skillout/iit+madras+avishkar+hyperloop+unveils+pod+for+the+spacex+competition- newsid-119900192

IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition

Indian Institute of Technology Madras' Avishkar Hyperloop Team today (14th June 2019) unveiled their Hyperloop Pod, which will compete in the global competition being organized by SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company.

Avishkar Hyperloop is the student team from Centre For Innovation (CFI) - IIT Madras, working on an indigenous design and development for building the first-ever self- propelled, completely autonomous Hyperloop Pod in India. It is one of the Top 21 teams out of 1600+ teams participating globally and the only Asian team to enter the finals of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition 2019.

The team is working with a vision to develop technologies for future mode of high- speed transportation with applications in various fields including Defence, Logistics and Aerospace Industry, among others. Speaking about the significance of this achievement, Dr. S.R. Chakravarthy, Faculty Advisor, Avishkar Hyperloop, and Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, said, "The team has taken strenuous technical efforts at every stage, and has been quite professional about executing the project. This is an important milestone for the future transportation technology in our country. "

Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation, a high-speed train that travels in a near- vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1000 km/h. Mr. Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through whitepaper - 'Hyperloop Alpha.' His company SpaceX organizes the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation.

Speaking about the competition, Mr. Suyash Singh, Student Team Head, Avishkar Hyperloop, said, "The primary factor to decide the winner is the top speed achieved by the Hyperloop Pod in the run in the 1-mile long vacuum tube, installed at the SpaceX headquarters. But, to qualify to the top few teams to be allowed to run through the tube, the design has to go through a lot of checks and scrutiny based on its feasibility, manufacturing possibility and its safety aspects."

They have already been

* Invited to exhibit at FISITA World Automotive Congress 2018 & CII Future Mobility Show 2019,

* Invited to address an International Conference on Energy Storage (ESI) 2019,

* Invited to exhibit Hyperloop technology for Defence purpose at Army Technology Seminar 2019.

Avishkaar will be going ahead with wheel drive for this year's competition, trying to achieve the highest speed possible. And simultaneously, they are carrying out research on the magnetic levitation and LIM technology. After the competition, they will attempt incorporating the magnetic levitation into the pod and participate in the competition to see how it actually performs alongside others since they expect a lot of teams to develop the levitation pod.

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Prime Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satya Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT Madras makes it to SpaceX Hyperloop Pod final contest, only Asian team to qualify in 2019 URL: https://www.primetimes.in/news/346195/iit-madras-makes-it-to-spacex- hyperloop-pod-final-contest-only-asian-team-to-qualify-in-2019/

IIT Madras makes it to SpaceX Hyperloop Pod final contest, only Asian team to qualify in 2019

Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation, a high-speed train that travels in a near- vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1000 km/h. Mr. Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through whitepaper - 'Hyperloop Alpha.' His company SpaceX organizes the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation.

They have already been

* Invited to exhibit at FISITA World Automotive Congress 2018 & CII Future Mobility Show 2019,

* Invited to address an International Conference on Energy Storage (ESI) 2019,

* Invited to exhibit Hyperloop technology for Defence purpose at Army Technology Seminar 2019.

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: Team set to present their project at US in July

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Dinamalar Edition: Chennai Page No: 17 Journalist: NA Headline: னைப்பர் 쯂ப் பபாட்羿 (IIT Madras team to present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk in LA )

Date: 15th June 2019 Publication: Dinakaran Edition: Chennai Page No: 13 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-Madras team qualifies for global hyperloop pod contest

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: Sathiyam Tv Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Student: Mr Pranit Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146172&repeat_id=0

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: DD Podhighai Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S R Chakravarthy Student: Mr Pranit Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146288&repeat_id=0

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: Makkal TV Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Student: Mr Pranit Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.clipbyte.com/my- clips.html?task=clip.details&id=146163&repeat_id=0

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S.R. Chakravarthy Student: Mr. Suyash Singh Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop unveils pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-avishkar- hyperloop-unveils-pod-for-the-spacex-competition-1549408-2019-06-15

IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop unveils pod for the SpaceX Competition

Indian Institute of Technology Madras' Avishkar Hyperloop Team on June 14, 2019 unveiled their Hyperloop Pod, which will compete in the global competition being organized by SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company.

Speaking about the significance of this achievement, Dr. S.R. Chakravarthy, Faculty Advisor, Avishkar Hyperloop, and Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, said, "The team has taken strenuous technical efforts at every stage, and has been quite professional about executing the project. This is an important milestone for the future transportation technology in our country. "

Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation, a high-speed train that travels in a near- vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1000 km/h. Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through whitepaper - 'Hyperloop Alpha.' His company SpaceX organizes the Hyperloop Pod Competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation.

They have already been Invited to exhibit at FISITA World Automotive Congress 2018 & CII Future Mobility Show 2019, Invited to address an International Conference on Energy Storage (ESI) 2019, Invited to exhibit Hyperloop technology for Defence purpose at Army Technology Seminar 2019. Avishkaar will be going ahead with wheel drive for this year's competition, trying to achieve the highest speed possible. And simultaneously, they are carrying out research on the magnetic levitation and LIM technology. After the competition, they will attempt incorporating the magnetic levitation into the pod and participate in the competition to see how it actually performs alongside others since they expect a lot of teams to develop the levitation pod.

The students will be working more until they reach a good enough speed for hyperloop, after which they can make changes accordingly for the payload and actual operating situations and start testing on the track which is currently being built. This may take up to some five years or more. Once they reach a level to commercialise the project, the students plan to set up a start-up. Commercialising such a heavy infrastructure project would not be possible without the support of the government and its various agencies. The students plan to discuss these with respective authorities and pave a way forward to develop one of the most futuristic technologies in the world.

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: Manorama Edition:Online Journalist: NA Headline: ഡൽഹി - ക ൊച്ചി രണ്ടേ ൊൽ മണിക്കൂർ, ഹഹപർലൂപ് സ്വꥍംന ; ഇന്ത്യ ണ്ടലൊ ത്തിന് മൊതൃ യൊ ുണ്ടമൊ?(Delhi, Kochi: Two and a half hours, hyperloop dream; Can India be a role model to the world?) URL: https://www.manoramaonline.com/technology/technology- news/2019/06/15/iit-team-hopes-to-impress-elon-musk-at-spacex-competition-with- pod-design.htm

ഡൽഹി - ക ൊച്ചി രണ്ടേ ൊൽ മണിക്കൂർ, ഹഹപർലൂപ് സ്വꥍംന ; ഇന്ത്യ ണ്ടലൊ ത്തിന് മൊതൃ യൊ ുണ്ടമൊ

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: MSN(The Times of India) Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IITM team unveils hyperloop prototype for SpaceX contest URL: https://www.msn.com/en-in/video/viral/iitm-team-unveils-hyperloop-prototype- for-spacex-contest/vp-AACWkFQ

IITM team unveils hyperloop prototype for SpaceX contest

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) team, Avishkar Hyperloop, unveils an indigenously designed and developed hyperloop prototype. The indigenous pod will be demonstrated at SpaceX contest finals. Team Avishkar Hyperloop- of IIT Madras- will operate the pod at the International Hyperloop Pod Competition in California. This is the only Asian team to compete at the finals along with 20 other teams across the world. It took 3 months to design and develop the nearly 3-m long and 120kg pod that required a funding of Rs 1 crore.

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: SakshiEducation Edition: Oline Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S.R. Chakravarthy Student: Mr. Suyash Singh Headline: IIT-Madras Avishkar hyperloop team unveils pod for the global competition by SpaceX URL: https://www.sakshieducation.com/EnglishStory.aspx?nid=233198&cid=2&sid=11 5&chid=795&tid=0

IIT-Madras Avishkar hyperloop team unveils pod for the global competition by SpaceX

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop team on 14 June, 2019 unveiled their hyperloop pod, which will compete in the global competition being organized by SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, said a statement issued by the institute. Education News Avishkar Hyperloop is a student team from the Centre for Innovation (CFI), IIT-Madras, working on an indigenous design and development for building the first-ever self-propelled, completely autonomous hyperloop pod in the country. It is one of the top 21 teams out of 1,600-plus teams participating globally and the only Asian team to enter the finals of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019.

S R Chakravarthy, faculty advisor, Avishkar Hyperloop, and Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT-M, said, “The team has taken strenuous technical efforts at every stage, and has been quite professional about executing the project. This is an important milestone for the future transportation technology in our country.”

Hyperloop is the fifth mode of transportation, a high-speed train that travels in a near- vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1000 km/h.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of hyperloop in 2013 through a white paper, ‘Hyperloop Alpha.’ His company organises the hyperloop pod competition to accelerate the development of functional prototypes and encourage student innovation.

Select teams build a sub-scale prototype to demonstrate the technical feasibility of various aspects of the hyperloop concept. In this global competition, the final round (testing and evaluation of the actual prototype) takes place at the SpaceX headquarters in California. The fastest pod wins the competition.

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: Mint Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT team hopes to impress Elon Musk at SpaceX competition with pod design URL: https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/iit-team-hopes-to-impress- elon-musk-at-spacex-competition-with-pod-design-1560401340651.html

IIT team hopes to impress Elon Musk at SpaceX competition with pod design

After clearing the preliminary round in its first attempt last year, Avishkar Hyperloop, the team from Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), is all set to participate in the final round of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition 2019 in Los Angeles (California) this year.

The team of 25 students, the only one from Asia which qualified in the final round along with 19 teams, will present its pod design to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

“There are several deadlines all through the year and the finals begin in July. So in the 2018 competition we managed to clear the filter round and were out of the 47 teams that were chosen from among the 1200-odd competing teams. The preliminary round is when you give an overview for your design and the final round takes care of detailing on how foolproof your pod is," said Pranit Mehta, one of Avishkar Hyperloop’s team members, and a B.Tech student from IIT-M.

Mehta and his team have designed a pod that is similar to an electric vehicle or a “high-end electric vehicle more or less", as he puts it. They came up with the design after initially working on a model that ran on levitation and linear-induction motors (type of contactless motor), finally deciding on going with one that runs on four wheels.

Hyperloop ideally is a concept wherein a pod travels in a vaccum tube and there is magnetic levitation, and no mechanical friction. “On paper a vehicle can travel up to 1,200 kilometers per hour. Elon Musk released a white paper on this some years ago. The competition gives us a one mile long vacuum tube and the whole point is to achieve maximum speed in that distance. The teams come with innovative ideas by attaining top speed with their pods," the IIT-M student explained.

At this year’s competition, the IIT-M student team will be facing some of the best teams across the world, which include those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Purdue University, Technical University of Munich, University of Washington, Queen’s University, and others.

The project, which cost the team nearly ₹1 crore to complete (to design and build the pod), also has P2P (peer-to-peer) lending firm RupeeCircle as a financial partner. A press release from founder and CEO, Ajit Kumar, said the firm, as a start-up, decided to support the IIT team as it is aware of hurdles that innovators face on their quest to success.

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: Study Buzz Edition: Online Journalist: Ashok Professor: Prof S.R. Chakravarthy Student: Mr. Suyash Singh Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://www.studybuzz.in/news/edutech/iit-madras-avishkar-hyperloop-unveils- pod-for-the-spacex-competition

IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition

Significance of Hyperloop Speaking about the significance of this achievement, Dr. S.R. Chakravarthy, Faculty Advisor, Avishkar Hyperloop, and Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The team has taken strenuous technical efforts at every stage, and has been quite professional about executing the project. This is an important milestone for the future transportation technology in our country. “

Also Read: New Dedicated Office for IIT Madras Center for Computational Brain Research inaugurated Select teams build a subscale prototype transport vehicle to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the various aspects of the Hyperloop concept. In this global competition, the final round (testing and evaluation of the actual prototype), takes place at the SpaceX Headquarters in California, U.S. The Fastest Pod wins the Competition.

Speaking about the competition, Suyash Singh, Student Team Head, Avishkar Hyperloop, said, “The primary factor to decide the winner is the top speed achieved by the Hyperloop Pod in the run in the 1-mile long vacuum tube, installed at the SpaceX headquarters. But, to qualify to the top few teams to be allowed to run through the tube, the design has to go through a lot of checks and scrutiny based on its feasibility, manufacturing possibility and its safety aspects.”

Date: 16th June 2019 Publication: Higher education Plus Edition:Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition URL: https://highereducationplus.com/iit-madras-avishkar-hyperloop-unveils-pod-for- the-spacex-competition/

IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop Unveils Pod for the SpaceX Competition

Date: 17th June 2019 Publication: The Hans India Edition:Delhi/Hyderabad Page No: 9 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof S.R. Chakravarthy Student: Mr Suyash Singh Headline: IIT-M team qualifies for global hyperloop pod contest

Date: 17th June 2019 Publication: Daily Thanthi Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras Avishkar Hyperloop unveils pod for the SpaceX Competition

Date: 17th June 2019 Publication: Vikatan Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: `மணிக்埁 1,200 垿.므 செல்쯁ம் வாகனம் ' - சென்னன ஐ.ஐ.羿 மாணவர்கள் 埁폁 ொ னன URL: https://www.vikatan.com/news/tamilnadu/159827-iitmadras-team-qualifies-for- global-hyperloop-pod-contest.html

மணிக்埁 1,200 垿.므 செல்쯁ம் வாகனம் ' - சென்னன ஐ.ஐ.羿 மாணவர்கள் 埁폁 ொ னன

அதமரிக்கொힿல் உள்ள `ஸ்பபஸ் எக்ஸ் ’ நி쟁வனம் ஹைபர் 쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம் 믂லம் பபொக்埁வர ்鏁 வச鎿கஹள பமற்தகொள்வ鏁埁잿 ்鏁 ஆய்ퟁகள் பமற்தகொண்翁 வ쏁垿ற鏁. வொகனங்கள் தசல்ல ட்뿂ப் பபொன்ற அஹமப்ஹப அ ன் 믂லம் ஒ쏁 இட ்鎿ல் இ쏁ந்鏁 மற்தறொ쏁 இட ்鏁க்埁 뮿க ힿஹரவொகப் பயணிக்க 믁羿뿁ம் என்பப ஹைப்பர் 쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம். இந் ் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்ப ்ஹ அ羿ப்பஹடயொக ஹவ ்鏁 ꯁ鎿ய கண்翁ꮿ羿ப்ꯁகள் த ொடர்பொன பபொட்羿ஹய ஸ்பபஸ் எக்ஸ் நி쟁வனம் நட ்鎿 வ쏁垿ற鏁. இந் ப் பபொட்羿뾿ல் உலகம் 믁폁வ鎿쯁뮿쏁ந்鏁 1,600 埁폁க்கள் கலந்鏁தகொண்டன. அ鎿ல் 21 埁폁ힿனர் மட்翁பம இ쟁鎿ப் பபொட்羿க்埁 ் 埁鎿 தபற்쟁ள்ளனர். ஆ殿யொힿபலபய தசன்ஹன ஐ.ஐ.羿-ஹயச்பசரந் 埁폁 மட்翁பம இ쟁鎿ப் பபொட்羿க்埁 ் ப ர்வொ垿뾿쏁ப்ப鏁 பொரொட்翁கஹளப் தபற்쟁ள்ள鏁.

ஐ.ஐ.羿

தசன்ஹன ஐ.ஐ.羿-뾿ன் 30 மொணவர்கஹளக்தகொண்ட `அힿஷ்கொர்’ என்ற 埁폁 ஹைபர் 쯂ப் த ொ펿ல்ꏁட்பம் சொர்ந் அ鎿பவக வொகன ்鎿ன் மொ鎿ரிஹய அ잿믁கப்ப翁 ்鎿뿁ள்ளனர். இந் வொகனமொன鏁 மணிக்埁 1,200 垿.므 பவக ்鎿ல் தசல்லக்埂羿ய ொ埁ம். அힿஷ்கொர் 埁폁ힿன் ஹலவர் 毁யொஷ்殿ங் இந் ப் பபொட்羿 த ொடர்பொக பப毁ஹக뾿ல்,``நிஹறய பசொ ஹனகள் , ஆய்ퟁகள் , பொ鏁கொப்ꯁ அம்சங்கள் , சொ ்鎿யக்埂쟁கள் அ羿ப்பஹட뾿ல் இஹ உ쏁வொக்垿뿁ள்பளொம்” என்றொர். இந் க் 埁폁ힿனர் உ쏁வொக்垿뿁ள்ள வொகனம் 3 므ட்டர் நீள믁ம் 12 垿பலொ எஹட뿁ம் தகொண்ட鏁. பல்பவ쟁 ரப்ꮿன쏁ம் இந் க் 埁폁ퟁக்埁 பொரொட்翁கஹள ் த ரிힿ ்鏁வ쏁垿ன்றனர். ஜூஹல뾿ல், அதமரிக்கொힿல் நடக்埁ம் இ쟁鎿ப் பபொட்羿뾿ல் அힿஷ்கொர் 埁폁ힿனர் பங்பகற்க உள்ளனர்.

Date: 18th June 2019 Publication: The Statesman Edition: Delhi / Kolkata Page No: 14 Journalist: NA Headline: Innovative minds

Date: 17th June 2019 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop Team Unveils Hyperloop Pod; Among 21 Teams To Participate In SpaceX Competition URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/iit-madras-avishkar-hyperloop-team-unveils- hyperloop-pod-among-21-teams-to-participate-in-spacex-competition

IIT Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop Team Unveils Hyperloop Pod; Among 21 Teams To Participate In SpaceX Competition

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop team has unveiled their Hyperloop Pod which be competing in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition 2019, India Today reports.

The student team from the IIT Madras’ Centre For Innovation is working on an indigenous design and development for building the first-ever self-propelled autonomous Hyperloop pod in the country.

The Avishkar Hyperloop team is in the top 21 teams of the 1,600+ teams which participated globally. It is the only Asian team to participated in the finals organised by American aerospace maker and space transportation company SpaceX.

Further, the team is visualising to develop technologies for a future mode of high- speed transportation, which could be applied in various sectors of defence, logistics among others.

Hyperloop is considered as the fifth mode of transportation. It is a high-speed train travelling in a near-vacuum tube at speeds over 1,000 km/h. The pod developed by the team is about three meters long in length and weighs around 120 kgs. It uses electric propulsion to employ BLDC motors and a wheel drive.

Elon Musk’s Space X organises the competition to fasten the development of a functional prototype and encourage student innovation.

Tags: technology, Elon Musk, Transportation, SpaceX, Hyperloop Pod, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Avishkar Hyperloop team, SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition 2019, Centre For Innovation, Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Ram Sundaram Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras researchers study new methods to extract methane from ice- like cages URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/iit-madras-researchers-study-new- methods-to-extract-methane-from-ice-like-cages/articleshow/69844995.cms

IIT Madras researchers study new methods to extract methane from ice-like cages

Indian Institute of Technology Madras researchers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates. Promising results from their research have been published in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy recently. There has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called 'Gas hydrates,' which are present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines. Hydrates are particularly promising methane sources in India because nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lie untapped in these cages within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone. This is 1,500 times more than country's present gas reserve. Also Read - About acids, bases & water Advertise With Us The Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India, reports that Krishna-Godavari basin and Andaman Basin have large amounts of gas hydrates. This IIT Madras research towards developing techniques to extract methane from gas hydrates can enable indigenous supply of natural gas and potentially lighten the nation's natural gas import burden.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT-M study models to extract methane from ice cages URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-m-study-models-to-extract- methane-from-ice-like-cages/articleshow/69849211.cms

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Delhi/Hyderabad Page No: 10 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT-Madras develops new methods to extract methane URL: https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/young-hans/iit-madras-develops-new- methods-to-extract-methane--538945

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras team tries to extract methane from ice-like cages URL: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/190619/iit-madras- team-tries-to-extract-methane-from-ice-like-cages.html

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT_M working on extracting methane from gas hydrates

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Western Times Edition: Ahmedabad Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Andhra Jyothi Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 14 Journalist: NA Headline: గ్యా  డ్రేట్లు నЂ栿 례鑇ꁍ ఉ遍ప త్తి (Methane production from gas hydrates )

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/iit-madras-developing- new-techniques-for-methane-extraction-119061800627_1.html

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

According to IITM, there has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called 'gas hydrates', which are present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines.

According to the institute, this methane is 1,500 times more than the country's current gas reserves. The Ministry of Earth Sciences reports that Krishna-Godavari and Andaman basins have large amounts of gas hydrates.

The research is being headed by IITM Department of Ocean Engineering Professor (Petroleum Engineering) Jitendra Sangwai who studies state-of-the-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India. The other members of the research team are Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

"Research is underway around the world to develop methods to extract methane from gas hydrates from both clayey and sand-dominated reservoirs. The Krishna- Godavari basin is a clayey reservoir while the off-shore Indian peninsular ones are a mix of both clayey and sandy.

"As gas hydrates are comparatively immobile and impermeable, they need to be dissociated into their constituent gas and water before the methane recovery from hydrate reservoirs is possible," Sangwai was quoted as saying in the statement.

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: NDTV Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras Developing New Techniques For Methane Extraction URL: https://www.ndtv.com/education/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for- methane-extraction-2055170

IIT Madras Developing New Techniques For Methane Extraction

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Mr Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

COMMENT Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in the near future, the statement said.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras researchers develop techniques to extract methane from natural gas hydrates URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-researchers- develop-techniques-to-extract-methane-from-natural-gas-hydrates-1551197-2019- 06-18

IIT Madras researchers develop techniques to extract methane from natural gas hydrates

The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates. There has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called 'Gas hydrates,' which are present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines.

About the research: The Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India, reports that Krishna-Godavari basin and Andaman Basin have large amounts of gas hydrates. This IIT Madras research towards developing techniques to extract methane from gas hydrates can enable the indigenous supply of natural gas and potentially lighten the nation's natural gas import burden.

The research is being headed by Dr Jitendra Sangwai, Professor (Petroleum Engineering), Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, who studies state-of-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India, and includes Research Scholars Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C. His research is being funded by IIT Madras and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.

Speaking about the importance of this research, Dr Jitendra Sangwai said, "Research is underway around the world to develop methods to extract methane from gas hydrates from both clayey and sand-dominated reservoirs. The Krishna-Godavari basin is a clayey reservoir while the off-shore Indian peninsular ones are a mix of both clayey and sandy". "As gas hydrates are comparatively immobile and impermeable, they need to be dissociated into their constituent gas and water before the methane recovery from hydrate reservoirs is possible," he added.

Techniques studied for the dissociation: Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation, namely - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection. Dr Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects of thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

"Information on the dissociation kinetics of methane hydrate and the effect of the molecular weight of polymers is necessary for the successful use of polymer flooding for gas production from hydrate reservoirs," write the researchers in their paper, of the motivation to study this process. Development of emerging techniques for controlled extraction of methane from hydrates entails concerted efforts between academic, government and industrial laboratories and can potentially lead the country towards self-sufficiency in the energy sector.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Careers360 Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras research could fuel the natural gas industry in India URL: https://news.careers360.com/iit-madras-research-could-fuel-natural-gas- industry-in-india

IIT Madras research could fuel the natural gas industry in India

A research team at IIT Madras are studying techniques for extracting methane from ice-like structures beneath the ocean called ‘gas hydrates’. If successful the results could boost the natural gas industry in India and propel it toward self-sufficiency. The gas hydrates are particularly promising natural gas sources because nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lie untapped in these structures within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, according to an IIT Madras report. This is 1,500 times more than the country's present gas reserve. The energy content of methane in hydrate form is expected to exceed that of fossil fuels, thus becoming a viable source for energy production. “Controlled extraction of methane from gas hydrates can not only meet the enormous demand for energy all over the world but can also reduce the detrimental geological release of greenhouse gas into the environment from these sources”, said Prof. Dr Jitendra Sangwai who heads the research team. The Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, has reported having large amounts of gas hydrates in the Krishna-Godavari basin and Andaman Basin. With such abundant sources in the country, the research can enable the indigenous supply of natural gas and potentially lighten the nation’s natural gas import burden. Dr.Sangwai, Professor of Petroleum Engineering, heads the team which also includes research Scholars Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C. IIT Madras and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India are providing funds for the research.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras researchers find ways to extract methane from natural gas URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2019/jun/18/iit-madras- researchers-find-ways-to-extract-methane-from-natural-gas-1991850.html

IIT Madras researchers find ways to extract methane from natural gas

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) on Tuesday said its researchers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IIT-M said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

According to IIT-M, there has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called 'gas hydrates', which are present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines.

The research is being headed by IIT-M Department of Ocean Engineering Professor (Petroleum Engineering) Jitendra Sangwai who studies state-of-the-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India. The other members of the research team are Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C.

The research is being funded by IIT-M and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Mumbai Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages found along the Indian continental Coastline URL: http://mumbainewsexpress.com/iit-madras-researchers-study-methods-to- extract-methane-from-ice-like-cages-found-along-the-indian-continental-coastline/

IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages found along the Indian continental Coastline

Speaking about the importance of this research, Dr. Jitendra Sangwai said, “Research is underway around the world to develop methods to extract methane from gas hydrates from both clayey and sand-dominated reservoirs. The Krishna-Godhavari basin is a clayey reservoir while the off-shore Indian peninsular ones are a mix of both clayey and sandy. As gas hydrates are comparatively immobile and impermeable, they need to be dissociated into their constituent gas and water before the methane recovery from hydrate reservoirs is possible.”

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation, namely – thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection. Dr. Sangwai’s team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in near future.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Chennai Patrika Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages URL: http://chennaipatrika.com/post/IIT-Madras-Researchers-Study-Methods-to- extract-Methane-from-Ice-like-Cages

IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in near future.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: UNI Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M Researchers study to extract Methane from ice-like cages in Indian EEZ waters URL: http://www.uniindia.com/iit-m-researchers-study-to-extract-methane-from-ice- like-cages-in-indian-eez-waters/south/news/1635325.html

IIT-M Researchers study to extract Methane from ice-like cages in Indian EEZ waters

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in near future.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Nav Bharat Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: आईआईटी मद्रास गैस हाइड्रेट से ममथेन ननकालने की तैयारी मᴂ(Preparing to remove methane from IIT Madras Gas Hydrate) URL: https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/business/business-news/preparing-to- remove-methane-from-iit-madras-gas-hydrate/articleshow/69844876.cms

आईआईटी मद्रास गैस हाइड्रेट से ममथेन ननकालने की तैयारी मᴂ

भारतीय प्रौ饍योर्गकी संस्थान-मद्रास (आईआईटी) गैस हाइड्रेट से ममथेन तनकालने की तकनीक पर काम कर रहा है। आईआईटी ने मंगलवार को यह कहा। इस कदम का मकसद प्राकृ ततक गैस की स्थानीय 셂प से उपल녍धता बढाना तथा उसका आयात कम करना है। संस्थान के बयान के अनसु ार ऐसा माना जाता है कक ‘हाइड्रेट’ 셂प मᴂ पाये जाने वाले ममथने मᴂ ऊजाि असीम मात्रा मᴂ होता है। गैस हाइड्रेट समद्रु तल मᴂ जल के ठोस स्फदटक के 셂प मᴂ पाये जाते हℂ जो मख्ु यत: ममथेन गैस का अ楍छा स्रोत माने हℂ। यह महा饍वीपीय तट क्षेत्र मᴂ उथले तलछट मᴂ पाया जाता है। बयान के अनसु ार भारत के ववशेर् आर्थिक क्षेत्र मᴂ जस्थत जल क्षेत्र के भीतर इन हाइड्रेट मᴂ करीब 19,00,000 अरब घन मीटर ममथेन गैस होने का अनमु ान है। इस पहल की अगवु ाई कर रहे प्रोफेसर जजतेꅍद्र सांगवाई (पे絍ोमलयम इंजीतनयररंग)आईआईटी के अनसु ार गैस हाइड्रेट से ममथेन को तनयंत्रत्रत 셂प से तनकाले जाने से न केवल दतु नया मᴂ ऊजाि की ज셂रतⴂ को परू ा करने मᴂ मदद ममलेगी बज쥍क यह इन स्रोतⴂ से पयािवरण मᴂ हातनकारक ग्रीनहाउस गैस के भगू भीय उ配सजिन को भी कम करता है।

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Millennium post Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: http://www.millenniumpost.in/business/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques- for-methane-extraction-358622

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

"Hydrates are particularly promising methane sources in India because nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lie untapped in these cages within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone," IITM said. According to the institute, this methane is 1,500 times more than the country's current gas reserves. The Ministry of Earth Sciences reports that Krishna-Godavari and Andaman basins have large amounts of gas hydrates.

The IIT Madras research towards developing techniques to extract methane from gas hydrates can enable indigenous supply of natural gas and potentially lighten the nation's natural gas import burden, the statement said. The research is being headed by IITM Department of Ocean Engineering Professor (Petroleum Engineering) Jitendra Sangwai who studies state-of-the-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India. The other members of the research team are Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: India Com Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Developing New Techniques For Methane Extraction URL: https://www.india.com/technology/iit-madras-researchers-developing-new- techniques-for-methane-extraction-3692929/

IIT Madras Researchers Developing New Techniques For Methane Extraction

IIT Madras Researchers Developing New Techniques For Methane Extraction Indian Institute of Technology Madras logo. Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@iitmadras The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researchers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued in Chennai, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

According to IITM, there has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called ‘gas hydrates’, which are present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines.

According to the institute, this methane is 1,500 times more than the country’s current gas reserves. The Ministry of Earth Sciences reports that Krishna-Godavari and Andaman basins have large amounts of gas hydrates.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

“As gas hydrates are comparatively immobile and impermeable, they need to be dissociated into their constituent gas and water before the methane recovery from hydrate reservoirs is possible,” Sangwai was quoted as saying in the statement.

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation – thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai’s team analyses the combined effects of thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in a faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Edex Live Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT-M Researchers study to extract Methane from ice-like cages in Indian EEZ waters URL: https://www.edexlive.com/news/2019/jun/18/iit-m-researchers-study-to-extract- methane-from-ice-like-cages-in-indian-eez-waters-6646.html

IIT-M Researchers study to extract Methane from ice-like cages in Indian EEZ waters

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates from ice like cages in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters were 1,900 trillion cubic metres of methane gas like untapped, which is 1,500 times more than country's present gas reserve.

An IIT-M release on Tuesday said promising results from their research were published in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy recently.

There has been worldwide interest in the development of techniques to extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages called 'Gas hydrates', which were present in shallow sediments along continental coastlines.

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The Ministry of Earth Sciences reported that Krishna-Godhavari basin and Andaman Basin have large amounts of gas hydrates.

This IIT-M research towards developing techniques to extract methane from gas hydrates could enable indigenous supply of natural gas and potentially lighten the nation's natural gas import burden, the release noted.

The research was being headed by Dr Jitendra Sangwai, Professor (Petroleum Engineering), Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT-M, who studies state-of-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India, and includes Research Scholars Mr Pawan Gupta and Mr Vishnu C.

His research was being funded by IIT-M and the Department of Science and Technology.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT-M studying methods to extract methane from 'gas hydrates' URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/iit-m-studying-methods- to-extract-methane-from-gas-hydrates-119061800820_1.html

IIT-M studying methods to extract methane from 'gas hydrates'

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Tuesday is working on techniques to extract methane from 'gas hydrates' stashed within the country.

The move is aimed at making natural gas locally available and reducing its imports.

It is believed that energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense, possibly exceeding the combined energy content of all other known fossil fuels, a statement from the institute said.

Gas hydrates, crystalline water-based solids, are promising methane sources present in shallow sediments along the country's continental coastlines.

There is nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lying untapped in these hydrates within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, it said.

This is 1,500 times more than country's present gas reserve, he added.

IIT-M said the development of emerging techniques for controlled extraction of methane from hydrates entails concerted efforts between academic, government and industrial laboratories.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Gadgets Now Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for extracting methane URL: https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/iit-madras-developing-new- techniques-for-extracting-methane/articleshow/69844264.cms

IIT Madras developing new techniques for extracting methane

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Tuesday is working on techniques to extract methane from 'gas hydrates' stashed within the country.

The move is aimed at making natural gas locally available and reducing its imports. It is believed that energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense, possibly exceeding the combined energy content of all other known fossil fuels, a statement from the institute said.

Gas hydrates, crystalline water-based solids, are promising methane sources present in shallow sediments along the country's continental coastlines.

There is nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lying untapped in these hydrates within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, it said.

"Controlled extraction of methane from gas hydrates can not only meet the enormous demand for energy all over the world, but can also reduce detrimental geological release of greenhouse gas into the environment from these sources," professor of Petroleum Engineering Jitendra Sangwai, who is heading the initiative, said. This is 1,500 times more than country's present gas reserve, he added. IIT-M said the development of emerging techniques for controlled extraction of methane from hydrates entails concerted efforts between academic, government and industrial laboratories.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Devdicourse Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT-M studying methods to extract methane from 'gas hydrates' URL: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/564855-iit-m-studying- methods-to-extract-methane-from-gas-hydrates

IIT-M studying methods to extract methane from 'gas hydrates'

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Tuesday is working on techniques to extract methane from 'gas hydrates' stashed within the country. The move is aimed at making natural gas locally available and reducing its imports.

It is believed that the energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense, possibly exceeding the combined energy content of all other known fossil fuels, a statement from the institute said. Gas hydrates, crystalline water-based solids, are promising methane sources present in shallow sediments along the country's continental coastlines.

There is nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lying untapped in these hydrates within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, it said. "Controlled extraction of methane from gas hydrates can not only meet the enormous demand for energy all over the world but can also reduce the detrimental geological release of greenhouse gas into the environment from these sources," professor of Petroleum Engineering Jitendra Sangwai, who is heading the initiative, said.

This is 1,500 times more than country's present gas reserve, he added. IIT-M said the development of emerging techniques for controlled extraction of methane from hydrates entails concerted efforts between academic, government and industrial laboratories.

It can potentially lead the country towards self-sufficiency in the energy sector, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Study Buzz Edition: Online Journalist: Ashok Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages found along the Indian continental Coastline URL: https://www.studybuzz.in/news/iit-madras-researchers-study-methods-to- extract-methane-from-ice-like-cages-found-along-the-indian-continental-coastline

IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages found along the Indian continental Coastline

Research To Extract methane gas trapped in ice-like crystalline cages

The research is being headed by Dr. Jitendra Sangwai, Professor (Petroleum Engineering), Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, who studies state-of-art processes used to recover crude oil from offshore reservoirs in India, and includes Research Scholars Mr. Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C. His research is being funded by IIT Madras and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.

Techniques Being Adopted

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in near future.

Development of emerging techniques for controlled extraction of methane from hydrates entails concerted efforts between academic, government and industrial laboratories and can potentially lead the country towards self-sufficiency in the energy sector. Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Outlook Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/iit-madras-developing-new- techniques-for-methane-extraction/1557365

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: The Wolrd news Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages URL: https://theworldnews.net/in-news/iit-madras-researchers-study-new-methods- to-extract-methane-from-ice-like-cages

IIT Madras Researchers Study Methods to extract Methane from Ice-like Cages

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) researchers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates. Gas hydrates are ice-like cages, found in Indian continental coastline, in which methane gas is trapped. According to official data, over 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lie untapped in these cages. This is 1,500 times more than country's present gas reserve. Methane, in the form of natural gas, is used by many industries to generate electricity and make energy. IITM researchers are studying new methane extraction methods so that country's natutal gas import will come down. The research is being headed by Jitendra Sangwai, Professor (Petroleum Engineering) from IITM's Ocean Engineering department. Gas hydrates should be dissociated into their constituent gas and water before metane recovery is possible, said Sangwai. Press release from IITM said that four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation, namely - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection. Sangwai’s team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another, the release added. “Controlled extraction of methane from gas hydrates can not only meet the enormous demand for energy all over the world but can also reduce detrimental geological release of greenhouse gas into the environment from these sources,” Sangwai added.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Daji World Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=597798

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Nav Hind Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: http://www.navhindtimes.in/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for- methane-extraction/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researchers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: India life Edition: online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: http://www.indialife.us/article.php?id=117226

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: News D Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://newsd.in/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for-methane- extraction/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Sure Gist Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for extracting methane URL: https://suregist.com.ng/iit-madras-iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for- extracting-methane-latest-news/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for extracting methane

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Can India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.canindia.com/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for- methane-extraction/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

Chennai, June 18 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy

“Hydrates are particularly promising methane sources in India because nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lie untapped in these cages within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone,” IITM saidAccording to the institute, this methane is 1,500 times more than the country’s current gas reserves. The Ministry of Earth Sciences reports that Krishna-Godavari and Andaman basins have large amounts of gas hydrates.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation – thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection

Sangwai’s team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting ases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in the near future, the statement said.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: New Kerala Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.newkerala.com/news/read/159773/iit-madras-developing-new- techniques-for-methane-extraction.html

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Web India 123 Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/Business/20190618/3557326.html

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Depressurisation is the most energy-efficient production approach for extracting gases from clayey hydrates and is possibly the most likely technology to mature in the near future, the statement said. Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: The Rahnuma Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.therahnuma.com/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for- methane-extraction/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation – thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai’s team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Social News Edition: Online Journalist: Gopi Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.socialnews.xyz/2019/06/18/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques- for-methane-extraction/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: English Lokmat Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://english.lokmat.com/business/iit-madras-developing-new-techniques-for- methane-extraction/

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: New York Indian Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Jitendra Sangwai Research Scholars: Pawan Gupta and Vishnu C Headline: IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction URL: https://www.newyorkindian.com/desi/newsdetail.asp?id=449929

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

In a statement issued here, IITM said promising results from their research have been published recently in leading international journals such as Energy and Fuels and Applied Energy.

The research is being funded by IITM and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Four techniques are being studied in various laboratories for this dissociation - thermal stimulation, depressurisation, chemical injection and carbon dioxide injection.

Sangwai's team analyses the combined effects thermal stimulation and depressurisation in one branch of study, and polymer injection in another.

This has been attributed to the relatively faster increase in volume available for the gas to expand upon application of heat, which results in faster decrease in pressure of the hydrate reservoir.

For the depressurisation process alone, the researchers also found that multi-step depressurisation is more efficient than the single-step depressurisation.

Date: 19th June 2019 Publication: Nyooz Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras researchers find ways to extract methane from natural gas URL: https://www.nyoooz.com/news/chennai/1376374/iit-madras-researchers-find- ways-toextract-methane-from-natural-gas/