Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line

"Did you know that a pedal-operated washing machine, which serves the purpose of an exerciser even as it saves on electricity, was invented by a college girl in Kerala," asks Prof Anil Gupta, Executive Vice Chairperson, National Innovation Foundation (NIF). It's not just the washing machine - the amphibious bicycle, the tree climber and the scooter for the disabled are all ideas devised by Indians for whom "necessity was the mother of all inventions".

Remya Jose from Malappuram, Kerala, the brain behind the unique washing machine, says, "Making the washing machine wasn't that arduous a task once I had conceptualised it. It was identifying and replicating the machinery parts and mechanism that took time and energy." Now a proud owner of the pedal-operated washing machine, she adds that she spent around Rs 2,000 putting it together and hopes to sell it in the market once she gets the patent for it. "I am now working on other projects as well during my leisure time as I have realised the practicalities of the machine," she says, preferring to keep the details under her hat.

The idea for the machine came to Remya as washing clothes was a tiresome chore and her family couldn't afford a regular washing machine. She examined how one of these worked and replicated it to suit the family's pocket. Her washing machine typically follows a "tumble wash" system, but it is operated using a pedal mechanism that has been developed using parts of a bicycle. So, as the person pedals, the system rotates, thereby washing the clothes.

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I Am New,
Krish Murali Eswar.