"Mitticool" - the first grassroot innovation gets official standard by Bureau of India Standards (BIS)

The first official standard for a grassroots innovation has been set up for clay cooling cabinet "Mitticool". The standard set up by the Bureau of India Standards is necessary after a particular stage for scaling up and entering the cross-border markets. 

It has been developed by Mansukhbhai Prajapati, from Wankaner, from Gujarat.  The IS 17693: 2022 - given to the non-electric cooling cabinet made of clay is the first standard rooted in a grassroots innovation - ‘Mitticool Refrigerator’.

The standard specifies the construction and performance requirements of a cooling cabinet of the natural refrigerator made out of clay which operates on the principle of evaporative cooling.

These cabinets may be used to store perishable foodstuff without the need of electricity. It provides a natural coldness to foodstuffs so that they remain fresh without deteriorating their quality. The standard can help grassroots innovations march hand-in-hand with innovations in the formal sector. 

"Some benefits that are expected to accrue to the innovation are – facilitation of trade and commerce, improvement of processes and making them more efficient, guidance in consistent functioning and quality, simplifying comparison of products and services, promoting further technological developments and so on," said PIB in its press release.

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National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, put forward this idea at the Innovations Scholars In-residence Programme held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

BIS took cognizance of this innovative technology and subsequently engaged with NIF to develop a new Indian Standard -- IS 17693: 2022  ‘Non-electric cooling cabinet made of clay’.

"The impact of the ‘Mitticool Refrigerator’has already been exponential, and it is poised to grow by attaining this significant milestone of setting standards. It is already playing a lead role in reviving the pottery culture, tradition, and heritage; connecting people back to roots in better, healthier ways; promoting sustainable consumption; economically empowering the indigent community; working towards green and cool earth, economic development and employment generation; and contributing towards rural women upliftment and making them financially independent. These achievements will receive a boost with the new standard," added the PIB press release.