President hosts innovators

C. Mallesham (37) grew up watching his mother sweat over her asu (the base for saree material) while making the famous Pochampalli silk sarees.

C. Mallesham (37) grew up watching his mother sweat over her asu (the base for saree material) while making the famous Pochampalli silk sarees.

HT Image

His mother’s toil inspired him to come up with a remedial innovation.

In the traditional method, women weavers from Andhra Pradesh would need to wind a silk thread 9,000 times from a central pin to end pins arranged in an arch.

It would not only take about five hours to complete the process for one saree but also leave their shoulders aching.

“It took me seven years (to develop the machine). Now, it takes just one and a half hours to make asu,” Mallesham said. He has manufactured and sold 400 such units so far.

President Pratibha Patil was impressed by similar innovations showcased at an exhibition in November 2009.

“This is perhaps the first time ever that a head of state has hosted an exhibition of innovations,” said Archana Dutta, OSD (PR) to the President.

“She (Patil) has shown keen interest in providing a wider reach to such grass root innovators.”

The principal theme of the exhibition is innovations that impact agriculture production and problems in rural areas.

The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) are participating in the exhibition comprising 32 innovators and 36 innovations and products.