Nanotechnology can contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s (NaMo) plan to provide healthcare to 50 per cent Indian population, counter air pollution and eliminate TB
Prasoon Sharma
PM Narendra Modi’s plan to provide health insurance to about half the country’s population would require an estimated 110 billion rupees ($1.72 billion) in federal and state funding each year.
The scheme, which the government dubs “Modicare”, was announced in Union Budget for 2018-19 and would provide 100 million families, or about 500 million poor people, with a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per year. Under the new scheme, the government estimates the cost of insuring each family would be about 1,100 rupees ($17.15), said the government official.
In an attempt to achieve its goal of tuberculosis elimination, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has allocated Rs 600 crore for nutritional support to TB patients in India. Tuberculosis, which remains to be a major health condition that affects most Indians, is a preventable, airborne infectious disease. In 2016, TB killed 423,000 people in India.
Nasofilters—Winner of “Startup National Award” by President of India —can contribute immensely to “Modicare”, eliminate TB and fight Air pollution. Nasofilters is India’s most affordable and efficient pollution filter developed by IIT Delhi. Nasofilters has been recognised as among “Top 25 (out of 118) technical start-ups in the world” by Republic of Korea.
We have built a ground-breaking filter technology to improve quality of life keeping in mind the harmful effects of air pollution and tiny suspended particulate matter specially 2.5PM particles.
These filters stick to user’s nasal orifice and restrict foreign particulate matter to enter the body. It is use and throw, biodegradable product which gives negligible breathing resistance. Also, the cost of the product is low and hence can be used by masses.
You may wear Nasofilters round the clock, including while sleeping. It is way more natural and is available in three sizes—small, medium and large. In other products, people are using carbon filters, activated carbon technologies, molecular technologies, etc., but if any carbon chunk goes inside your body it can actually harm you. In Nasofilters, the polymers used are biocompatible. If at all any defective fiber piece goes inside your body, it doesn’t harm you.
Apart from India, we have already been receiving bulk orders from Iran, Dubai and Vietnam. Further, we are working to reduce the thickness of polymer in our product beyond the current 200 nano meters range, which will then restrict the entry of viruses as well. This will help to prevent airborne infectious disease like TB.
The technology that we have developed can be used in air, water and fuel filtration domains as well. With our technology, we can reduce the cost very drastically for these applications. On the fundraising front, we are in talks with some venture capitalists in India, the US and South Korea. We are open and looking forward for worldwide collaboration.
(The writer is Mentor & Chief Strategy officer-Nasofilters)
