The Ventilator Project
07 March 2021Synopsis
'Riveting … a must-read' – K. VijayRaghavan
‘Brilliantly written … timely’ – Gopal Vittal
‘An inspiring story’ – Pramath Raj Sinha
A raging pandemic, a dearth of life-saving equipment, and ninety days to manufacture a world-class ventilator.
On 24 March 2020, a nationwide lockdown was imposed in India in the face of a formidable adversary, the Covid-19 pandemic. With the number of cases increasing exponentially, hospitals were faced with a dangerous shortage of life-saving equipment and personnel.
In response to the imminent crisis, Amitabha Bandyopadhyay and Srikant Sastri formed the IIT Kanpur Ventilator Consortium as a task force to assist a young startup, Nocca Robotics, in building affordable high-quality ventilators for India’s cash-strapped hospitals. Under the mentorship of reputed industry leaders, the task force and the Nocca team worked tirelessly against unprecedented odds – trammelled by a ban on imports and telecommuting through Zoom and Whatsapp in the face of stringent lockdown restrictions – to manufacture the Noccarc V310 in record time. This is the incredible story of its conception, creation and success, in the words of the task force co-leaders themselves.
Inspiring and riveting, The Ventilator Project also offers an unmatched blueprint for business in the post-Covid era through first-hand lessons gleaned during the task force’s phenomenal ninety-day run. It proves that India, with its deep recesses of talent and ingenuity, has the potential to be a world leader in both business and social impact.
Details
07 March 2021
9789389104660Reviews
'A riveting story of aspirational lndia … this compelling narrative outlines how, if all the stakeholders – academic institutions, young startups, corporate and business leaders, the government – work together with a sense of purpose, seemingly impossible tasks can be achieved with elan. The authors redefine the roles of academic institutions, leaders of the government and corporate businesses in building the new lndia' – K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
‘This brilliantly written book is very timely … it will serve as an inspiration to challenge our own mental models and embrace a world full of opportunity and change’ – Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and CEO, Bharti Airtel (India and South Asia)
‘An inspiring story that showcases how some of India’s burning problems can be solved when passionate and diverse groups of people come together to create magic. It chronicles a successful academia-industry collaboration between India’s science and technology institutions, startups and industry leaders. If such a trial-by-fire project can succeed in the midst of a pandemic, then we have reason to be hopeful and optimistic about India’s future’ – Pramath Raj Sinha, founder and Chairman, Harappa Education; founder and Trustee, Ashoka University
'This story of a young robotics firm applying its talent and skills to seize the opportunity to serve an urgent and immediate need exemplifies the potential of “Atmanirbharta”. A great read!’ – Anju Seth, Director, IIM Calcutta
‘This inside story of the race to produce a world-class life-saving product in the face of the Covid-19 crisis reads like a Mission Impossible script’ – Samir C. Arora, founder, Helios Capital Management Singapore
'The Ventilator Project records for posterity a shining model of India’s intellectual capacity and spirit of enterprise that will serve as an inspiration for future generations’ – Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, ITC Limited
‘One book that will stand out in 2021 is The Ventilator Project . A timely and riveting read, a fascinating story that no one should miss out on in order to get inspired and take pride in being Indian’ – Amith Prabhu, founder and Communication Catalyst, The Promise Foundation
‘There are three types of innovation: incremental, step change and breakthrough. And [the] ultimate breakthrough is not just about the product but about a radically new business model. The Ventilator Project is a fascinating chronicle of one such ultimate breakthrough. It exemplifies how businesses can succeed at the speed of light in this new world. It has lessons not just for India but for Silicon Valley and the world. The authors bring this fascinating story to life while distilling the lessons and key steps to replicate breakthrough innovation in your business’ – Kandy Anand, CEO, Igniting Business Growth LLC
