Category: Spotlight

*Please note that the profile does not indicate endorsement of the products.* 

AirOK was founded in 2015 by three IIT Madras graduates, who shared the vision of developing solutions that will address air pollution, which is a serious threat facing the world at large. Mr. Deekshith Vara Prasad who founded this company along with Pavan Reddy and Sravan Krishna worked on Air quality management project during his graduation at IIT Madras realised that the drastic deterioration in air quality has been driven by newer range of pollutants, which have changed over the years and the need of the hour is a solution that will counter all types of pollutants.

A short Q & A with Deekshith Vara Prasad, CEO of AirOK:

What is the product line up at AirOK? What’s unique about the products?

AirOK product line include wide range of Air quality management solutions. We have developed first indigenously developed Indoor Air purifier with unique patented filter technology. We are also expanding our clean air solution to outdoor air purification by building Ambient air purification station. We are also working air purification inside kitchens and automobiles. AirOK also working on Air quality monitoring solutions using sensors for future smart cites in India.

Are the air purifiers tested under laboratory conditions for efficiency?

AirOK indoor air purifiers were tested both in laboratories and field conditions. It has third party certification (Shriram Institute for Industrial Research Laboratories and IIT Madaras) and product testimonials from various organisations.

How big is the team at AirOK? What are some of the skills that are key to the business model of the company?

Currently AirOK is an 18 member team. Being passionate toward solving the real problem to make India a safe place in term of air quality is what we looking for along with some technical knowledge in filtration technologies.

What are some of the challenges as a business in the air pollution domain?  

Major challenge would be the invisibility factor. There is not much awareness built on bad air quality, which makes us work on creating awareness on affects of bad air quality. There is always a skepticism involved in air purification due to this invisibility factor.

We believe in product speaking rather than we speaking, just leaving our demo units with the customer to feel the difference. Cost is also a very sensitive parameter. For other products, the customer is aware of what he is buying, but in this case, he needs to believe what sales guy says because no one can see air.

Also, there are many products in the market but hardly 2 to 3 Qualified R&D centers for research and testing.

What are your plans for the next year?

We are planning to expand globally with our current product, indoor air purifier and launch two other key innovative products into the market in next one year.

Find AirOK on Facebook | Twitter 

NextGen Earth Labs (NGEL) is a network of satellite remote sensing scientists and air quality experts. NGEL is working towards a clean air future by providing innovative research solutions to help policy makers, different stakeholders, and general public in making science based informed decisions on air quality. NGEL’s strength lies in integrating inputs from surface, satellite, and physical models into big data analytics framework to provide state of the art air quality trends and forecasts.

Their approach is to measure, monitor, map, report and forecast air quality and make data available to all stakeholders in a web-based platform. NGEL’s visualization and analysis tools can serve as a decision support system for air quality. We rely on observations from multiple satellites across various space agencies such as NASA, NOAA, JAXA, ESA, ISRO. Our mission is to help create a sustainable clean air environment by addressing air quality challenges with the help of our data analysis tools.

Find NGEL on Twitter, Facebook or visit their website.

A short Q &A with Dr. Falguni Patadia, co-founder and CEO of NGEL:

How (and why) did you decide to work on air pollution?

We all deserve to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live a healthy life . However, as we know, the current state of air, water, and land has changed dramatically over the past few decades. More than 90% of the global population breathes air that does not meet World Health Organization air quality guidelines. With over 30+ years of combined experience of NGEL’s team, working on satellite remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols and the impact of aerosols on human health and climate, we have a moral responsibility to participate and address the current air quality situation. NGEL’s extensive satellite remote sensing experience provides an unique opportunity to deliver a real-world application of global high quality research-level datasets for monitoring air quality and its impacts.

What projects are you currently working on?

We have several projects lined-up in our pipeline for the next 2-3 years. The current operational air quality project on NGEL’s platform are:

1) Global hourly PM2.5 air quality forecasts with real-time validation using surface measurements operated by government monitors (link)

Forecasting of PM2.5 at city level is performed by integrating outputs from NASA’s global model, real-time satellite observations and historical ground measurements into a big data analytics system enabling us to provide global hourly forecasts for upto 10 days in advance. The online tool also provides an opportunity for the user to evaluate PM2.5 against real-time PM2.5 measurements. These forecasts are currently experimental and we are working towards comprehensive global validations, which will allow us to improve the PM2.5 forecasts and address any caveats that we may face as we move forward. The real-time surface measurements used for validation are obtained from OpenAQ.

2) 40 years of PM2.5 reanalysis extracted over 2000+ global cities (link)

Our second project provides monthly mean PM2.5 for over 2000+ cities globally for the past 38 years. This provides the community with a unique opportunity to analyze and download the long-term data records. These are reanalysis performed by NASA global model, which includes surface and satellite measurements of aerosols. These datasets can serve as a guideline in places where surface measurements are limited/not available. Given the limitations in these datasets, we strongly advise users to be cautious in interpreting long-term trends quantitatively.

There are multiple other projects in pipeline involving low-cost sensors, fires and dust monitoring. Currently, our main focus is to improve the quality of our global forecasts and provide comprehensive validation results to the community.

What are the two biggest challenges towards addressing air pollution in India from your personal and organizational experience?

Although the air pollution problem in India is not new, it was the recent WHO reports that prompted different agencies, including the government, to initiate awareness programs at different levels. However, the pace of action is slow and the biggest challenge is the lack of awareness among public and governments about the seriousness of the problem, specifically the immediate and long-term health and economical impacts.

The second challenge is the lack of long-term and sufficient number of high-quality ground-based measurements of various air pollutants across the country. This in-turn limits the opportunity to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of air pollution on both health and economy.

Persistent awareness through different forums and by enabling science-based decision support tools such as from NGEL, we can not only educate and empower the citizens in making informed decisions but also assist governments in formulating strong policies to holistically address the air pollution problem. We at NGEL believe that good decision and policy making must be based on scientific evidences and that requires high quality data.

What comes next? How do you anticipate engaging with experts and public in India?

NGEL believes in a collaborative-science approach and we are actively engaging with air quality experts not only in India, but across the global air quality community. In India, we are collaborating with educational institutions and aim to involve state/national governments and NGO communities to take it further. Currently, we are enabling web-based solutions and in the coming months, we will be launching user-friendly solutions on mobile platforms. At the same time, our new upcoming citizen-science initiative to actively engage the general public in air quality monitoring will not only help us to improve our solutions, but also connect people standing up for the common cause.

Finally, we welcome all parties interested in using satellite observations for air quality applications to contact us and participate/collaborate/support our clean air future initiative. We look forward for your feedback and suggestions (http://nexgenearth.info/contact).

Ronak Sutaria has a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from NJIT, USA and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Engineering from University of Mumbai, India. He worked in the Silicon Valley for ~5 years, and then joined Mindtree Research Labs and led their Internet of Things (IoT) research.

In 2015 and 2016, he led a sensor journalism project called #Breathe at IndiaSpend focused on air quality in India, and in 2017, he founded urbansciencesIN, formally registered as Respirer Living Sciences Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai, India.

Ronak has worked in the research and development of IoT technologies involving Big Data platforms, Data Science and Machine Learning algorithms and low-cost Wireless Sensor Network based solutions. He has an active interest in citizen science projects and the use of open data and technology for governance, economics and democracy-focused initiatives.

Ronak is on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also visit his website.

A short Q &A with Ronak:

What motivated you to work with low-cost sensors? 

I am primarily interested in working on citizen science initiatives which empower people with real-time data. The purpose of doing this is to enable citizens & communities to have a more informed dialogue with a view towards improving the urban quality of living. I got exposed to the underlying technologies that are involved in this back in 2004 when I took graduate level courses related to wireless sensor networks. Subsequently, I used to attend weekend talks on citizen science organized by some groups from Intel-Berkeley R&D. In a sense, the genesis of my interest in this field stemmed from some of the courses I took & the talks I attended in San Francisco & Berkeley (USA).

How was the experience working on the IndiaSpend #Breathe project? What were the challenges and successes?

I had built the first version of the air quality monitors around mid-2010. I had pitched a crude version of the prototype to Suzlon (who used to run p.a.l.s – a ‘pure air lovers society’. Subsequently, I pitched the idea to a few other clean tech companies). In December 2014, I met the founder of the Data Journalism initiative IndiaSpend & we ended up discussing this idea. I found the initial backing which I needed in IndiaSpend. Over the next one year, I started working on taking the one unit I had built to scale to upto 15 units. By the time we launched the IndiaSpend #Breathe project – we had managed to build about 50 units.

While there was a lot of excitement in the technology and the project we were building, the key concern & challenge I had when we were launching the project was that I felt that adequate evaluation & validation of the data had not been done. I had reached out to a few domain experts but we had not got any real dialogue or engagement going with any of them.

They key success of the project was the wide dissemination & traction we received from the journalism and other community-based organizations for this project. The wide adoption of this project was a clear indicator that the need for real-time data which helps improve the quality of living is immense.

How do you see sensor data playing a role in the air quality narrative in India?

Real-time sensor monitors when managed & operated by local citizen & community based organizations can lead to a more sustained engagement of people in the understanding of the air quality challenges facing our country. A quick anecdotal example is as follows: There is a community based environmental monitoring group in Chennai which has installed 10 Atmos monitors in different parts of the city. The core group actively manages the monitors using a device dashboard & tracks the data from those monitors on daily basis. After several months, when one of the locations started reporting very high levels, the core group immediately contacted the remote site to find out why the levels had started staying so high as compared to other sites. The remote group was very pleasantly surprised that someone was keeping a track of their air quality conditions and responded back by saying “Didi (sister), we thought you had forgotten us after installing the monitors !”. The remote monitored site then went on to explain some local event which over the past few days had led to the increased levels of pollution in that area.

Providing real-time sensor based monitoring can help bring communities closer and help each other better in fighting for cleaner air quality for the region.

Can you tell us about Atmos? What is the goal of the project and how do you see it fit within the air quality landscape in India?

The Atmos monitors are being designed with a view to build a scientifically validated & calibrated monitoring solution. One of the focus areas of the Atmos monitors is to have a more in-depth understanding of how the sensors perform over longer periods of time, how to calibrate them in real-time in the field and finally to preemptively detect sensor failure about a week or so in advance just before they are starting to fail. The eventual goal of the Atmos network is to have more scientific rigour in the research & development of the low-cost monitors being deployed in India.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on getting a better understanding of how to calibrate these low-cost air quality sensors. Besides the PM2.5 sensor based devices, I am also exploring how toxic gas sensor based monitoring can be implemented at scale. I am also a part of a team which has been funded by IUSSTF for building a low-powered (6LoWPAN/LoRa/NB-IoT) based wireless network for nationwide air quality monitoring (details ). [Read about early results from the sensor project here.]

Besides the air quality monitoring, I am also working on building policy research tools for greater transparency in our urban governance frameworks.

What is your message to others looking to start work with air pollution sensors?

For those starting to work with air pollution sensors, specifically those coming from a technical background, I would encourage them to get a strong understanding of how the sensors are performing in the field. Doing as many field studies as possible is immensely helpful. Having a thorough knowledge of the sensor electronics as well as the sensor calibration techniques is very valuable.

Besides getting the basics of the sensors right, it is also valuable to interact with a cross-section of stakeholders and to understand what are the requirements of each of those groups of people. In a sense, the age-old maxim holds true here too “Begin with the end in mind“. It is important to have some clarity on the kind of intervention that one is trying to make, especially those who are trying to build their own initiatives or ventures in this space.

What is RAMP? 

Are there plans for more monitors in India?

Contact Srini via e-mail, or find him on Twitter.

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is one of South Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions. The Council uses data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to explain – and change – the use, reuse, and misuse of resources. The Council addresses pressing global challenges through an integrated and internationally focused approach. It prides itself on the independence of its high-quality research, develops partnerships with public and private institutions, and engages with wider public. In 2018, CEEW once again featured extensively across nine categories in the ‘2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report’, including being ranked as South Asia’s top think tank (14th globally) with an annual operating budget of less than USD 5 million for the fifth year in a row.

In 2016, CEEW was also ranked 2nd in India, 4th outside Europe and North America, and 20th globally out of 240 think tanks as per the ICCG Climate Think Tank’s standardised rankings. In 2013 and 2014, CEEW was rated as India’s top climate change think-tank as per the ICCG standardised rankings.

Here is a Q&A with Dr. Hem Dholakia, Senior Research Associate at CEEW:

Can you tell us a little bit about CEEW? 

In over seven years of operations, The Council has engaged in more than 180 research projects, published well over 110 peer-reviewed books, policy reports and papers, advised governments around the world over 400 times, engaged with industry to encourage investments in clean technologies and improve efficiency in resource use, promoted bilateral and multilateral initiatives between governments on more than 50 occasions, helped state governments with water and irrigation reforms, and organised more than 210 seminars and conferences.

The Council’s major projects on energy policy include: India’s largest energy access survey (ACCESS); the first independent assessment of India’s solar mission; the Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN) of hundreds of decentralised clean energy firms; India’s green industrial policy; the $125 million India-U.S. Joint Clean Energy R&D Centers; developing the strategy for and supporting activities related to the International Solar Alliance; modelling long-term energy scenarios; energy subsidies reform; energy storage technologies; India’s 2030 renewable energy roadmap; clean energy subsidies (for the Rio+20 Summit); clean energy innovations for rural economy; community energy; and renewable energy jobs, finance and skills.

The Council’s major projects on climate, environment and resource security include advising and contributing to climate negotiations (COP-23) in Bonn, especially on the formulating guidelines of the Paris Agreement rule-book; pathways for achieving INDCs and mid-century strategies for decarbonisation; assessing global climate risks; heat-health action plans for Indian cities; assessing India’s adaptation gap; low-carbon rural development; environmental clearances; modelling HFC emissions; business case for phasing down HFCs; assessing India’s critical minerals; geoengineering governance; climate finance; nuclear power and low-carbon pathways; electric rail transport; monitoring air quality; business case for energy efficiency and emissions reductions; India’s first report on global governance, submitted to the National Security Adviser; foreign policy implications for resource security; India’s power sector reforms; resource nexus, and strategic industries and technologies; and Maharashtra-Guangdong partnership on sustainability.

How and why did the organization decide to work on air pollution?

As an organisation, CEEW has been committed to using data, integrated analysis and strategic outreach to explain and change the way natural resources are used, re-used or misused. Our perspective is that air pollution has its roots in the way we produce and consume energy. Given CEEW’s extensive work in the renewable energy, energy access, industrial sustainability, low carbon pathways and the power sector, air pollution was a natural extension.

What projects are you currently working on?

In the framework of air pollution, we are working on four projects – first to understand the different policy portfolios that will help us achieve India’s ambient air quality standards; second to look at ways of promoting conservation agriculture among farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, so that they stop burning paddy straw; third to test low-cost sensors and their use for pollution management; and fourth to look at the opportunities and challenges for implementation of the new thermal power plant standards.

Personally, for you, how do you view the air quality problem in India?

Personally, I see air pollution as the biggest environmental health challenge for the country. We struggle with a large burden of disease. Air pollution will likely exacerbate disease burdens due to respiratory as well as cardiovascular causes in India. Poor health has implications for economic growth. Air pollution has the potential to reduce productivity and impact India’s economic growth through the route of health. Reduced economic growth has implications for poverty alleviation. In a way, these issues are deeply interconnected.

What are the two biggest challenges towards addressing air pollution in India from your personal and organizational experience?

The first challenge is pooling financial resources to combat air pollution. Setting up monitoring systems, smog-alert systems, investing in clean energy, public transport etc. require resources. The costs of a transition to cleaner air are immense. We need a strategic approach to thinking about this, beyond the cess that is charged on coal.

The second challenge is moving from awareness to action. Several institutions are working to build awareness on the pollution issue, but what is missing are actions (across stakeholder groups) to help tackle the issue. Bridging this gap will help create sustained action to reduce pollution.

Find CEEW on social media: Facebook | Twitter

The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) is an Indian not-for-profit research organisation incorporated in 2005 u/s 25 of The Companies Act, 1956. As one of the largest think tanks in South-East Asia, its mission is to enrich policy-making with innovative approaches, using science and technology for a sustainable, secure and inclusive society. CSTEP has grown to become a multi-disciplinary policy research organisation in the areas of Energy, Infrastructure, Materials, Climate and Security Studies. Recently, they have started work on air pollution in Bengaluru, Karnataka and are in the process of developing new projects.

A short Q and A with Dr. Pratima Singh, a research scientist CSTEP who is leading the AQ work:

Can you tell us what CSTEP is?

The Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, has recognised CSTEP as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. CSTEP has emerged to be one of India’s well-regarded think tanks, over the last ten years. Our approach to policy research is quantitative, objective and computation intensive. In a short period, CSTEP has established robust research groups in Energy and Climate Studies, Urban Infrastructure, Water Studies, Materials Research and Governance. In addition to this, CSTEP has built multi-disciplinary research capacity including economists, policy specialists, social scientists, IT experts, etc., to ensure that research incorporates social and economic perspectives to scientific solutions, in order to have meaningful outcomes and lasting impact.

CSTEP’s research aims at and explores science and technology enabled policy options, for inclusive and equitable economic growth. It looks at using newly emerging technologies for social and economic development. The Government of Karnataka has recognised CSTEP as a Technical Resource Institution.

How (and why) did the organization decide to work on air pollution?

Ambient air quality of Bangalore city has changed over the last few decades with increasing population and rapid growth in transportation, industry and commercial sectors. The number of activities related to construction, waste management and vehicular traffic has also increased. These changes are reflected in Bengaluru’s air quality levels. Recent Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Air Quality (AQ) data shows that the city’s AQ index has exceeded the threshold limit at various locations in the city. While there is a need for stronger policy to combat air pollution, the first step is to estimate various sources of pollutants and their contribution to ambient AQ.

Studying air pollution is especially important considering that the last comprehensive air pollution study for Bengaluru was in 2008. This has resulted in a knowledge gap which, in turn, is reflected in the inadequate measures put in place to tackle the city’s air pollution. CSTEP, through this study, hopes to bridge this gap by building an up-to-date, high resolution emission inventory for the city, developing AQ modelling and doing relevant policy analysis.

Measuring air pollution levels is the first step towards designing effective policy interventions at the city, state and national levels, towards achieving “Clean Air for All”. A comprehensive air pollution measurement study is crucial for formulating laws and policies to reduce air pollution levels. It will also help in planning for a future that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals that India has committed to.

We hear you are running a pilot project in Bengaluru. What does this project focus on?

The focus of the pilot project is on mobile monitoring for PM2.5, PM10, black carbon (BC), and particle count of the pollutant in a 5 sq. km area of Bangalore city. Using air quality measuring instruments (DustTrak, Aethalometer, Condensation Particle Counter (CPC)) in chosen areas of the city, mobile measurements will be taken during peak and off-peak hours, weekdays and weekends and from different modes of transportation (auto rickshaw, bike and car). This pilot study will also help us to examine the air quality, and assess exposure levels.

In order to understand dispersion of pollutants in the city, we will also be using dispersion models (computational simulation of how air pollutants disperse in the ambient atmosphere). The models will also allow us to estimate the trans-boundary pollution share.

Personally, how do you view the air quality in Delhi vs. Bengaluru?

Air quality levels in Bangalore city have not reached critical levels, yet. However, considering the city’s growth in the last decade, scientific, evidence-based policy measures are required to reduce the level of pollution in the city. Taking into consideration that Bangalore’s public transport system is not as widespread as the capital city’s, it is only a matter of time before Bangalore’s air quality levels deteriorate.

What is the biggest challenge in the field from your perspective?

The most pressing challenge is the lack of data from continuous monitoring stations. This has resulted in lack of sufficient evidence, and in turn formulation of adequate policies for reducing air pollution. Hence, there is a need to improve data generation and evidence-based analysis for making a change in our air quality.

Lack of capacity and resources for air pollution studies at the institutional level (measurement and modelling) is also a pressing challenge hindering air quality studies. This calls for multi-sectoral collaborations at different levels (research and science, policy and governance, industries and local groups). This will not only enable filling of data gaps, but will also ensure that the public are well aware of and contribute to policy measures.

Public awareness is another missing component that is crucial to influencing changes in the present air pollution scenario. We need to educate the residents and promote measures that can reduce air pollution. This will help to change people’s perspective and behavioural patterns when it comes to air pollution. These are small, but important steps that can address the bigger challenge of air pollution.

Is CSTEP likely to hire air quality professionals in the near future? 

Yes!