Pune, May 2017 – The Technology Development Board, a statutory body under Government of India's Department of Science and Technology, shall be honouring city-based Vikarsh Nano Technology and Alloys Private Limited, for the successful commercialisation of Nano Crystalline Ribbons and Amorphous Ribbons, which contributed in foreign exchange savings through these indigenously developed innovative advanced materials.

The award comprises of a trophy and Rupees Fifteen Lakhs (Rs. 15 Lakhs) cash prize and shall be presented to the Founders of Vikarsh by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Hon'ble President of India, during a special function to be held at Vigyan Bhavan on the upcoming Technology Day (May 11). Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences would also be present on the occasion. May 11th is celebrated as Technology Day to commemorate the successful nuclear tests in Pokharan on May 11th, 1998.

Nano Crystalline and Amorphous Ribbons are the outcome of complex engineering techniques. Vikarsh has become the first Indian company to develop these products in India for which the Indian industry was largely dependent on import before. These products have passed all international quality and environmental norms and have proved to be five times better in performance as compared to its competitors from developed countries.

Largely used in the electrical and electronics segment, these products have caused an estimated savings of foreign exchange of USD 2 million in the last financial year. Apart from electrical and electronics, these ribbons also have applications in other areas like defence, medical sciences and solar energy.

Sameer Shinde, Milind Wani and Laxmikant Trivedi, the founders of Vikarsh, had a dream to indigenously develop high performance magnetic material. The dream was realised after a consistent effort of about five years and in December 2014 these products were successfully manufactured by Vikarsh.

Leading industry houses like ABB, General Electric, SIEMENS, Toshiba, Crompton Greaves Limited and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited have approved the usage of Nano Crystalline Ribbons and Amorphous Ribbons from Vikarsh. The usage of these ribbons manufactured in India is likely to grow in the current financial year and is likely to contribute towards saving of foreign exchange of about USD 3 million.