Green wheels
Ecocabs started as an experiment by IIT-Delhi alumnus Navdeep Kumar Asija in his hometown Fazilka in Punjab.
Navdeep Kumar Asija 38 Founder, Ecocabs, Punjab
Smooth ride
One phone call to the Ecocabs cycle rickshaw driver on his cell phone and he will be at your doorstep to drop you anywhere in the 22 districts of Punjab where driving a car can be nothing short of a nightmare. Don't be surprised if he is neatly dressed, greets you amiably and offers to carry your bag.
Catching on
Ecocabs started as an experiment by IIT-Delhi alumnus Navdeep Kumar Asija in his hometown Fazilka in Punjab. It has now been replicated across the state, besides Gurgaon which adopted it as part of its Rapid Metro Feeder System in 2015.
by Sukant Deepak
Electric start
Hemalatha Annamalai 47 Owner, Ampere Vehicles, Coimbatore
Bright idea
E-vehicle is the future, says Hemalatha Annamalai. Her company, Ampere Vehicles in Coimbatore, is manufacturing electric vehicles for people and businesses. The manufacturing facility at Sulur churns out e-scooters, e-cycles, electric three-wheelers for the differently abled, customised vehicles such as e-trolleys and golf carts.
Cost-effective
An e-scooter, which can cost between Rs 35,000 and Rs 45,000, will run 60 km per charge. It needs to be charged for 6-7 hours, but the power it consumes is low: about 1.5 units. An e-cycle costs about Rs 22,500.
Will to achieve
Her company has so far sold 10,000 e-cycles, 8,000 e-scooters and 320 customised industrial vehicles.
by Charmy Harikrishnan
Mapping safety
Rakesh Verma 64
MD & Co-Founder, MapmyIndia, Delhi
With you, always
Not toolong ago, public transport, especially taxis, had been hogging the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The result? Passengers began feeling unsafe and many did not want to travel alone in a cab. Then, Rakesh Verma of MapmyIndia came to the rescue. He provided a solution that tapped into navigation technology. Verma helped the transport companies install GPS and tracking devices in their cabs as part of measures to make travel safer. Besides, Verma also helped them install a panic button in the cabs which gives the location of the car even when it is switched off.
Value for money
The one-time cost of the device is Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 depending on the features. The device also includes a GPS tracker and a panic button. You have to pay a monthly subscription fee that varies from Rs 250 to Rs 400 per month.
Success story
Armed with the desire to participate in India's development, Verma led MapmyIndia's pioneering effort in creating a complete digital map of India, all from scratch because no digital maps were available for India at that time. The result of his 18 years of efforts is that MapmyIndia is now the leading navigable map and GIS solutions provider in the country.
by Ridhi Kale