City based ‘CupMan’ wins #Innovate4SDGs Contest’

| | Ranchi
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City based ‘CupMan’ wins #Innovate4SDGs Contest’

Thursday, 03 December 2020 | Divya Modi | Ranchi

Twenty three-year old Ranchi boy Pramod Priya Ranjan was declared as one of the winners for ‘#Innovate4SDGs Contest’ among seven winners by UNDP (United Nation Development Program) Accelerator Lab India on November 27. Ranjan along with designer Dr Nachiket Thakur is the Co- founder and Director of a startup called Care Form Labs Private Limited and the winning company will receive $5000 to conduct a pilot project of their product which is a re-designed easy-to-use ‘Menstrual Cup’.

The winners were declared by Christiane Hieronymus, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development, Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi in the presence of other eminent guests on the first anniversary of UNDP Accelerator Lab.

Ranjan and Thakur along with Professor Dhimant Panchal, Director MIT- Institute of Design, Pune and two designers Alomi K Parikh and Shreya Yengul, have invented an innovated an easy-to-use menstrual cup. The team has also filed for a patent, design registration and PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) Application

“This menstrual cup is an eco-friendly, economical and a more hygienic alternative to the typical sanitary napkins and tampons popularly used. The product has been made user-centric and re-designed in such a way that it becomes easy to insert and remove from vagina. It is also spill resistant, intuitive and ergonomical- suitable for all body types. The cups are made of medical grade silicone and will last for about 5 years replacing about 750 sanitary napkins from the environment in the process. They will collect blood instead of absorbing it and are rash-and-odor free,” said Ranjan.

The young entrepreneur was also awarded a grant of up to Rs 50 lakhs by ‘BIRAC’ (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) under the scheme ‘BIG-16’ (Biotechnology Ignition Grant) by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

“We have successfully conducted user testing with the product prototype- 3 and after taking feedback as we are now with product prototype- 4. The imposed lockdown and subsequent compliances with the covid-19 guidelines have disturbed the timeline and hopefully a soft launch will be done soon,” added Ranjan.

“Pramod and his team are trying to remove period poverty in India and give everyone an option for sustainable menstrual hygiene. They have not just innovated products but have also come up with innovative strategies to achieve their vision. He will be called ‘CupMan’ of India, because of the disruption he is trying to bring in the menstrual cup market,” said Dr. Mohit Dubey, CEO, AIC– MIT ADT Incubator Forum, Pune where Ranjan’s company is incubated.

Born and brought up in Ranchi, Ranjan completed his schooling from Delhi Public School and holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design from MIT Institute of Design, Pune. He is currently pursuing his masters from IIT, Delhi. A resident of New Pundag, Ranjan is grateful to his parents Vinod Ranjan, HOD Fine Arts, DPS Ranchi and Tapasi Ranjan a teacher at VVM, Ranchi for their immense support and guidance.

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