IIT Kanpur Raises Funding from ICICI Securities to Facilitate Rapid Delivery of Oxygen

IIT Kanpur has raised funding from ICICI Securities for its Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre’s (SIIC) Mission Bharat O2( MBO2) initiative. The organisation aims at making the Indian healthcare manufacturing ecosystem self-reliant through this initiative by supporting the domestic manufacturing of oxygen concentrators on scale. The project brings together various stakeholders to facilitate rapid-scale, decentralized production of oxygen concentrators pan India.

The project, led by professor AmitabhaBandyopadhyay, Professor In-charge, Innovation & Incubation, IIT Kanpur, SrikantSastri, Director, FIRST-IITK and Chairman, I3G Advisory Network, and Rahul Patel, Head of Strategic Initiatives, SIIC IIT Kanpur, will support local manufacturers to develop oxygen concentrators. Through a three-pronged approach, which includes Rapid Product Development, Centralized Sourcing and Decentralized Manufacturing, the project aims to deliver 20,000 indigenous yet high-quality oxygen concentrators and oxygen plants for India’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. IIT Kanpur aims at creating decentralised manufacturing pockets where Indian manufacturers will develop oxygen concentrators on a rapid scale through the initiative.

ICICI Securities in 2020, had joined hands with IIT Kanpur for developing affordable, indigenous ventilators to save lives. The concentrator cost is at least 40% lower than comparable imported products.SIIChas already selected eight manufacturing partners from 70+ participants who competed to manufacture this indigenous oxygen plant and oxygen concentrators. Product testing has been completed and by 20 June 2021, and a daily run rate of 100 units per manufacturer per day is expected to be achieved.

Commenting on SIIC’s vocal for local vision, Amitabha Bandyopadhyay said: "The SIIC team at IIT Kanpur aims to turn the country into a manufacturing hub by supporting cutting-edge research and development. Our incubated companies have contributed immensely since COVID-19 struck India. We want to go a step further to build a nexus of local manufacturers who will put India on the map of the global manufacturing hubs. The support from ICICI Securities is a much-needed contribution in that direction."