Exchange of MoU between CSIR-CEERI and M/s Cuboid Iotech Pvt Ltd, Gurugram

CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), Pilani, signed an agreement with M/s Cuboid Iotech Pvt. Ltd, Gurugram on 7 November 2019 for manufacturing and marketing the Adulteration Monitoring System in the milk supply chain. Transfer of Technology was done ceremoniously in a programme which was chaired by Dr D.K. Aswal, Director, CSIR-CEERI.

Exchange of the MoU was held between Mr Utkarsh Kapoor, CEO of M/s Cuboid Iotech Pvt. Ltd, Gurugram, and Dr J.L. Raheja, Chief Scientist and Head PME, CSIR- CEERI. On this occasion, from Cuboid IoTech Pvt. Ltd Ms Smriti Utkarsh, Director, Mr Rami Kachroo, Chief Technology Officer, Mr Rahul Agarwal, Chief Risk and Strategy Officer and from CSIR-CEERI Dr S.A. Akbar, Chief Scientist and Coordinator, CPS, Dr P.C. Pancharia, Senior Principal Scientist and In-charge, CSIR-CEERI, Jaipur Centre as well as other senior scientists of the Institute and media personnel were present. 

It is noteworthy that the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind had dedicated 'Ksheer Tester', the handheld version of Ksheer Scanner Technology developed by CSIR-CEERI to the nation on 27 September 2017.

Dr D.K. Aswal, Director, CSIR-CEERI, welcomed all the representatives of M/s Cuboid Iotech on the occasion and said that this institute, as part of its social mission to make the lives of common citizens simple and comfortable, is working relentlessly to realise the Make-in-India mission of the Govt of India. He said that CSIR-CEERI, Pilani has developed this system for checking adulteration in a milk supply chain under CSIR's Fast Track Translation Project (FTT) programme.

Dr P.C. Pancharia, Sr Principal Scientist & In-Charge, CSIR-CEERI Jaipur Centre briefly highlighted the needs and importance of the Milk Supply Chain Monitoring System developed by his team. He said that the quality of food items and the detection of adulteration are major challenges of the concerned departments. It is a well-known fact that the monitoring of perishable food items, especially the milk supply chain, is mandatory. Proper monitoring of the quality of milk is required at the level of the village milk collection centres, cold storage and during transportation, etc. to minimise the loss due to quality degradation and adulteration.

Dr Pancharia described that the system is supported by the Internet of Things (IoT) which can monitor each sample of the milk collection centre and send its data to the dairy in real-time. This system can monitor adulterated substances that are commonly used in milk such as salt, urea, caustic soda, ammonium sulphate, etc. in 20-25 seconds at almost zero test cost. The system is also able to describe other parameters of milk such as fat and the solid non-fat content of milk. 

He underlined that it is safe to use as well as to install at the milk collection centres of various milk societies at the village and tehsil level. Representatives of M/s Cuboid Iotech wanted to know more about the system and Dr Pancharia answered their queries and satisfied them.

While interacting with the media after the transfer of technology, Dr Aswal praised Dr P.C. Pancharia and his team for developing this technology to address the national level health problem caused by the adulteration of milk. 

Mentioning the benefits of the system, Dr Aswal said that apart from other benefits of this next-generation technology system, it provides automatic scanning of raw milk samples at milk collection centres. This system can also be useful for on-the-spot milk testing by food inspectors and for "Swasth Bharat" this type of effective technological intervention is necessary.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Utkarsh Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of M/s Cuboid Iotech Pvt. Ltd, Gurugram, also informed about the establishment and objectives of his company, through a PowerPoint presentation.

In the end, he expressed his gratitude to the Director, CSIR-CEERI for providing them with the opportunity to be in association with the institution through this Technology. Representatives of the company expressed their satisfaction with the technology and hoped that soon it would be available in the market as a product to benefit the masses.