“There was a time when necessity was the mother of invention, but today, over-abundance of technology has made us live in a world where invention is the mother of necessity.” ― Abhijit Naskar, Mission Reality.

In recent years, there has been a revolution of ideas that have stormed the Indian market making life easier. Here’s a look at them.

1. Sewage Pipe Home The low-cost housing alternative was developed by Perala Manasa Reddy, a civil engineering student from Telangana.

The pod-style home made of old sewage pipes and complete with a bathroom, a kitchen, and bedrooms attached, is a step toward solving the housing problems of the poor.

2. Multi harvester Deepak Reddy, a mechanical engineer from Telangana built this to help the farmers of his village start cultivation on barren land.

The machine effectively removes stone debris that pollutes the land, thus making it possible to harvest crops on this patch.

3. Tupik Bed AC ‘Why do we have to cool the entire bedroom using an AC, when we can just cool the bed?’ This thought pushed Ravi Patel, Founder of Tupik to come up with an energy-saving AC.

Along with cooling just the bed, it can also be self-installed without the help of a technician.

4. Amphibious Bicycle Muhammed Saidullah from Bihar came up with a bicycle that can run on both land and water. Ironically, this was born out of a desire to meet his wife who was away from him in Mahendrughat.

He even named the bicycle after her – Noor.

5. Mitti Cool Made by craftsman Mansukhbhai Prajapati, the clay fridge can preserve food items without using electricity.

This is due to the unique cooling properties that clay renders. The invention was also featured at a University of Cambridge conference in May 2009.

6. Jaipur Foot Devendra Raj Mehta’s organisation Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is a Jaipur-based NGO that has given free artificial limbs to lakhs of needy people.

After meeting with an accident in 1969 at Pokhran, Mehta realised the expense of artificial limbs. He then started the venture which has benefitted more than 18 lakh individuals.

7. Voice Box Dr Vishal Rao came up with a unique device which can give throat cancer patients their voice back. Costing just Rs 50, the oncologist’s invention ‘Aum’ is now available in the market.

Patients see it as a new lease on life as it enables them to regain their voices after being diagnosed with the condition.

8. Bullet Santi When Mansukh Jagani, a farmer from Gujarat was forced to sell his bullocks due to poverty, he did not want to give up farming.

So he developed a three-wheeled ploughing machine built from a bike. His invention went on to be welcomed by other farmers as well.

9. Spandan The loss of a friend in 2016 got Rajat Jain wanting to develop a machine that could detect heart problems. This led to the invention ‘Spandan’.

The matchbox-sized portable ECG device has electrodes that are fixed on the patient’s chest. The other end is connected to the phone, where a reading suggests abnormalities.

10. Solar Rickshaw Home Tamil Nadu-based architect Arun Prabhu built a house on top of an autorickshaw as a solution to illegal encroachments.

The house consists of a toilet, foyer, terrace, living room space and kitchen, and is used by labourers, travellers, artists and vendors.

Also read: IIT-Bombay Duo Builds ‘RO Hand Pump’ That Purifies Water Without Electricity