Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham today joined a league of six Indian innovators who would contribute to an ambitious health project in the country, as the multi-campus institution has been chosen to develop the proposed project which would facilitate the availability of decontaminated water and improve the conditions of sanitation in India.

The Amrita School of Biotechnology located in the Amritapuri Campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Kerala was formally given the go-ahead for carrying out its role in the ‘Reinvent the Toilet Challenge: India’ — a collaborative effort of the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of Science and Technology, along with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) which is a Government of India Enterprise.

Dr. Bipin Nair, Dean, Amrita School of Biotechnology functioning off Kollam indicated that the project was the creative genius of the senior faculty members of the School of Biotechnology, Dr. Sanjay Pal and Ajith Madhavan, to develop the novel concept of deploying host specific bacteriophages or viral agents to try and eliminate pathologenic and odour causing microbial contamination in faecal matter.
Dr. Nair also pointed out that this project was in synergy with the goals of the parent organization of the institution, The Mata Amritanandamayi Math, which has adopted over 100 villages across India in September 2013, and will be developing these villages in all respects including education, healthcare and sanitation.
The grants totalling two million US dollars were announced today by DBT Secretary Prof K Vijay Raghavan, who is Chairman of BIRAC, from a pool of 108 applications which an expert committee shortlisted after “extensive and rigorous” selection.
The function was held as part of a two-day Reinvent the Toilet Fair that showcases innovative products and approaches that aim to brings safe, affordable and sustainable sanitation.

March 27, 2014
Amritapuri Campus

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