The pathetic situation of Indian Science -Soleckshaw episode

The pedicab - cycle rickshaw photo above is taken in Austin, USA. We can easily visualize such scenario with better tricycles in India especially tolerably flat tourism centers like Mysore. Tricycles can have pedal assist to make the job of the pilot far more easier. The hurdles today to make it happen are people who matters in our society - potbellied politicians whose astrologers dismiss global warming, bureaucrats who likes to maintain status quo and scientist who scream eureka reinventing wheel.

A solar electric rickshaw launched with great fanfare by India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) two years ago is yet to find any takers. While this is causing concern, a Pune engineer has claimed the CSIR copied his design. says the story in economic times which points to sorry state of scientific affairs in India.

The three-wheeled "soleckshaw" can in principle use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity to drive its motor. The name itself is misleading with no solar panel in picture.

The story of electric rickshaws in India began with Anil K. Rajvanshi, Director of Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute who published a article in 2002 about the scope of cycle rickshaws in India. - http://www.nariphaltan.org/att42.htm

"Our electric cycle rickshaws were inaugurated in Pune University campus in 2002 and technical details were published in the Indian journal Current Science in its September 25, 2002, issue," says Anil Rajvanshi, an IIT graduate and Director of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). - in economic times news report mentioned above.

Our great cunning brains in Delhi decided to steal the idea, fabricate a crude model and put a green label and coin a new name Soleckshaw.

This blog - freedomforscience - has nicely painted true picture about state of Indian science. CSIR, our premier technological R&D institute, is not even capable of delivering a viable solar rickshaw. Their prototypes have been a huge failure. The only people to benefit from it are – S K Brahmachari and Kapil Sibal.

The latter used those prototypes in his election campaign and has won handsomely. Brahmachari got many news items that praised him for such a novel concept.

Lack of technological competence is evident in a recent policy decision by Pranab Mukherjee. He stated that no customs duty (and excise duty) will be levied on solar rickshaws. Customs duty?? – Is it not pathetic to think that now we have to import parts from abroad to build a cycle rickshaw?

Finance minister Pranab Mukherji had even spared a paragraph [paragraph- 159] on this unique invention by Indian scientists in his bugdet speech last year

159. The humble cycle rickshaw is now being acclaimed as an environment-friendly means of transport. CSIR has developed an innovative product called 'soleckshaw' to replace manually-operated rickshaws. It runs on batteries which are charged by solar power. I propose to provide a concessional excise duty of 4 per cent to this product. Its key parts and components are also being exempted from customs duty.

The budget speech read out under watchful eye of Soniaji led me to mistaken notion that the customs will not be very harsh on me for importing tricycle and pedal assist units. It was not the case. What the bureaucrats in New Delhi as diversionary tactics wrote to me was -

With regard to the exemption announced in the latest budget , the exemption (in respect of Sl.No.345A, in Notification No. 21/2010-Cus) is for Battery pack, Battery charger, AC or DC Motor, AC or DC Motor controller imported for use in the manufacture of Electrically operated vehicles, including two and three wheeled electric motor vehicles. The condition for grant of this exemption is that, the importer has to follow the procedure set in the Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty for Manufacture of Excisable Goods Rules, 1996. Since the imported goods are not covered under this serial number, the extension of benefit of the aforementioned Notification does not arise

and they have used the taxation under entirely different heading for answering my query. It is like if I asked for a horse and got a donkey.

Coming back to Anil Rajvanshi who pioneered the efforts on Electric assist on Rickshaws in India - "We at NARI failed in our attempt to commercialise our electric rickshaws; if the CSIR can popularise theirs and sell them in large numbers then it will be a vindication of our work," Rajvanshi said.

However, that looks like wishful thinking given the fact that two years after its launch there are no soleckshaws on the road except the 10 vehicles that Maiti said were "currently plying in Faridabad (Haryana) with the initiative of one of the licensees".

This rickshaw can be used to carry heavyweights too is proved by carrying Nitin Gadkari - BJP chief in Delhi on September 17, 2010 says BJP website

The other day, Gadkari hopped on to a solar-powered cycle- rickshaw and went for a merry ride inside the party office! Moved by the experience, he quickly dialled the chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states and asked them to consider including the vehicle in the party’s Antyodaya programme that is meant to help the poor and the needy said Telegraph published from Calcutta.

No idea if Yediyurappa was among those who received his call and whether is supportive of this. The success of the project will not only promote environmentally friendly mobility in big way and may put more people on e-cycles.