Industry Accelerator by IISc (SAMRI-DHI)

Industry Accelerator by IISc (SAMRI-DHI)

The SamridDHI Project, sponsored by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, aims to strengthen India's self-reliance in producing highly import-dependent rotating equipment through collaboration between academia and industry. By leveraging strong industry-academia partnerships, the project encourages technological innovation, Intellectual Property (IP) creation, and new product development (NPD). Currently, the project includes eight innovative products involving seven companies across India, covering key areas such as electric centrifugal superchargers, magnetic bearing centrifugal compressors, water-injected screw compressors, smart industrial IoT systems, high-speed vacuum balancing systems, mesoscale high-temperature testing equipment, self-recovery heavy-duty winches, and high-speed electric drives. The project spans 30 months, structured into eight clearly defined milestones, including accelerator readiness, market research, product design, engineering, prototype development, market validation, piloting, and final commercialization. Each company follows a rigorous product development lifecycle, which involves creating two successful prototypes ready for market scaling. Key deliverables include market-driven product design, detailed engineering and prototyping, competitive benchmarking, pilot manufacturing, and commercialization support. Through SamridDHI, industry partners are supported by a dedicated team from IISc Bangalore, complemented by experts in project management, technology validation, certification, and testing. The initiative has significantly contributed to skill development, generating substantial intellectual property and industry-academia collaborations. Currently, the program has created employment for an average of 14 team members per project, totaling 114 trained professionals. Moreover, the skilling component of the program has trained an additional 114 individuals in advanced technologies critical to each product. The SamridDHI project, spanning 30 months, systematically progresses through clearly defined milestones—from accelerator readiness and market validation to pilot testing and market-scale enablement—to ensure effective technology absorption, enhanced competitiveness, and self-reliance in India’s capital goods sector.

Financial Progress
MHI Cost (INR)
67.94 Cr.
Industry Cost (INR)
20.83 Cr.
Project Cost (INR)
88.77 Cr.
Brief

SamridDHI Program has achieved a significant milestone with the commencement of the product prototyping phase. In preparation for prototyping, a dipstick market assessment was completed, based on the preliminary Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) provided by the respective industry partners. Additionally, an extensive Market Assessment Report was developed to evaluate market requirements thoroughly and identify appropriate target segments. Aligned with the preliminary PRDs, detailed Product Requirement Documents were finalized and documented meticulously for each product. Further, a comprehensive Market Survey, involving detailed interviews and surveys, was conducted to capture relevant insights and findings critical for the development of each product under the SamridDHI Program. Subsequently, a Comprehensive Design Review (CDR) was conducted with industry partners following the finalization of product designs. The CDR committee, comprising subject matter experts from leading industry and academic institutions across India, rigorously reviewed each design. Valuable insights and actionable recommendations for design enhancements were provided. The review concluded with clearly defined action points, which industry partners are actively addressing. In parallel, extensive Intellectual Property (IP) landscaping activities were conducted, including comprehensive prior-art searches based on the Invention Disclosure Forms submitted by industry partners. As a result, 23 potential IP opportunities have been identified to date, and this number continues to grow steadily. Furthermore, nine (9) Indian patents have been successfully filed for various projects under the SamridDHI Program. Currently, industry partners have successfully completed Prototype 1 and are actively engaged in developing Prototype 2 as part of the new product development cycle. Upcoming milestones include: • Product prototype testing • Pilot manufacturing • Commercialization, including scaling of manufacturing capabilities.