India’s Ravi Prakash wins BRICS-Young Innovator Prize

India’s Ravi Prakash has won the BRICS-Young Innovator Prize at 4th BRICS -Young Scientist Forum’s Conclave held during 6-8 November2019 in Brazil. He won the first first prize carrying $25,000 for inventing an affordable indigenous milk chilling unit for smaller and marginal rural dairy farmers.

Key Highlights

Ravi Prakash He is a PhD scholar of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Bangalore. He was a part of 21-member delegation sent to Brazil by Department of Science and Technology (DST) for the 4th BRICS-Young Scientist Forum (YSF), 2019.

Technology: It can be used for chilling milk from point of production by bringing down the temperature of raw milk from 37C to 7C within half an hour (30 minutes) using nano-fluid based phase change materials.

This innovation of affordable indigenous milk chilling unit is of great socio-economic importance for all the developing countries by preserving the quality and safety of milk just after production. It will add value in farmer’s kitty.

About BRICS Young Innovator Prize

Background: On July 2014, during the 6th BRICS Summit held in Fortaleza, Brazil, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mooted the idea of youth engagement and desired to develop an innovative mechanism to engage, network and connect BRICS youth. Eventually, India’s proposal for creating a BRICS-Young Scientist Forum received unanimous support and was endorsed by BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministers at 2nd Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Ministerial Meeting held in Brasilia on March 2015.

Objective: To recognise and reward best results related to innovation, research and development projects representing technological innovation and a potential contribution to science and technology sector of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries.

The prize specially recognizes young talented researchers and entrepreneurs, whose outstanding innovations make a profound impact on socio-economic environment as well as life conditions in societies of BRICS nations.