JOIN USA micro-industrial complex, which integrates an oil mill with multiple cold chambers along with separate facilities to make drinking water and oil cake, has been prepared by Indian scientists, who are setting up many such units in the countryside.
The first unit was made operational at Malunga village, 37 km from Jodhpur, in December and expected to be fully functional by February end. One unit is adequate for about 100 villages.
Developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, the integrated unit takes water and local agriculture produce – castor seeds for Jodhpur – as input and generate castor oil, oil cake, cold storage space for fruit ripening and drinking water as output. In addition, the unit also generates a part of the energy needed to run these machines.
“Total investment is about Rs 4-5 crore (excluding the land) and the total daily revenue would be about Rs 3 lakh. The pay back period is 2-3 years. We are now identifying the partners,” said Ashutosh Sharma, secretary in the department of science and technology.