Across Vidarbha, a region not always known for cutting-edge manufacturing, a few innovators have quietly developed tangible products with scientific backing and regional impact. Their work ranges from medical devices to water purifiers, from solar distillers to eco-crafts. This listicle profiles four such innovators.

Each entry describes the product, its development, and contextual facts gleaned from public reports. The aim is to present factual stories of innovation grounded in Vidarbha, without conjecture or prescription.

1. Abhijeet Raut — the AR implant for dialysis fistula

Abhijeet Raut is a PhD scholar at VNIT Nagpur who led the development of a novel jacket-style arteriovenous (AR) implant to assist surgeons in creating better dialysis fistulae. The implant is made of biocompatible, implant-grade silicone. It is designed to maintain a 45-degree angle between the artery and vein at their connection, which helps regulate blood flow and reduce turbulent stresses. The project was funded by the Department of Science & Technology with a grant of ₹26 lakh. The work was guided by a team including former VNIT director P.M. Padole and nephrologist Dr Dhananjay Ookalkar.

Testing moved from computational simulation to animal trials over 30 days in goats, conducted in collaboration with Nagpur Veterinary College. Results showed reduced inflammation and improved healing compared to conventional surgical methods. Abhijeet Raut secured two patents and published three research papers based on the implant, and the innovation earned an award at the National Innovation Competition. This is among the first medical device outcomes from central India to combine simulation, large animal trials, and patenting from within Vidarbha. Reports note this is the first instance in central India of such extensive animal testing with full ethical approval for a vascular implant.

This AR implant addresses a known problem: almost half of new arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs) fail early, often due to misalignment, stenosis, turbulence, or thrombosis. By enforcing geometric guidance at the connection, the device aims to reduce variance in surgical outcomes. The reporting emphasises that the implant may ease surgical burden while improving long-term patency for dialysis patients. The project stands as a physical, commercially relevant innovation born in Vidarbha’s academic ecosystem.

2. Meenakshi Walke — bamboo QR code and eco-crafts

Meenakshi Walke, originally a homemaker in a slum area of Chandrapur, created and tested what is claimed to be India’s first bamboo QR code. The code is machine-scannable and made entirely from bamboo, offering an eco-friendly alternative to plastic or printed QR codes. The physical dimensions of her prototype were 15 cm tall, 8 cm wide, and about 5 mm thick. Prior to this, she had developed bamboo rakhis and other bamboo handicrafts, shipping items internationally, including to London. Her enterprise is called Abhisar Innovatives.

She began her craft journey after training under a forest department programme in bamboo arts. The QR code project started after a businessman asked if a functional QR code could be made of bamboo. She reportedly built the first model in two days, though she was initially uncertain if the technique would work on bamboo. Her creation received recognition from the World Bamboo Organisation, which called it “excellent innovation.” She also won the National Nari Shakti Award in 2018 for her startup venture.

Walke’s bamboo QR code is not just symbolic. It demonstrates the fusion of traditional craft materials with modern digital utility in a physical product. She employs local women in her community for manufacturing bamboo artefacts, which gives her work a social dimension. Her enterprise spans baskets, trays, lamps, jewellery and now QR codes, all physical products built in the Vidarbha region. Her innovation shows that even grassroots inventors in less industrialised zones can produce tangible, tech-inflected goods.

3. Vikrant P. Katekar — solar “Solar Still” water purifier

Vikrant Pradip Katekar, an assistant professor in Nagpur, invented a solar distillation device known popularly as a “Solar Still.” The device uses evaporation and condensation under solar heating to purify contaminated water. His design consists of a tank with step-like absorber plates made of copper, painted dull black to absorb heat, and covered with glass to allow sunlight in but trap vapour. The vapour condenses on the cooler glass and is collected via sloping surfaces. The device has no special or exotic materials, making it suited for rural deployment. He said the technology is ready for commercialisation and a patent (number 402175) was recently granted. He developed the device quickly, reportedly in three days. The impetus came from water scarcity in his locality (Manewada, near Nagpur), where residents often store water for two days due to limited access. The patent is said to cover the solar distillation mechanism for contaminated water purification.

In reports, Katekar notes that conventional water purification systems, such as reverse osmosis, multi-effect desalination, ion exchange, etc., are too energy-intensive for small rural needs. His Solar Still offers a low-energy alternative for producing potable water in locations with fuel or electricity constraints. The design is modular and scalable. Because the device is a physical construct, it embodies innovation in rural technology from Vidarbha. Some reports also mention that Katekar’s work extends to solar distillation in other contexts (including solar thermal hydrodistillation of cow urine), though that intersects more speculative or emerging research.

4. Abhijeet Gan — community water purification technology

Abhijeet Gan is a Nagpur-based entrepreneur who leads Rite Water Solutions (formerly Nagpur Aquatech). He developed water purification systems aimed especially at rural and fluorosis-affected areas. His technology uses electrolysis for defluoridation in some of the systems. His company has installed over 5,200 community water purification plants across India, and claims to purify over 10 million litres of water daily.

Gan started from a challenge faced by villages suffering from high fluoride in groundwater; his first project was in Dongargaon village in Maharashtra. Following that, the state government requested more installations. His systems include community water purification plants (CWPPs), solar-powered units, mobile water ATMs, and modular purification systems tailored to local water chemistry. Gan’s company is now filing an IPO of ₹745 crore through SEBI, which includes fresh equity and offer-for-sale components. The IPO would help scale operations further.

Rite Water Solutions positions itself as the only clean-tech firm in India combining water, solar agriculture, and IoT systems under one roof. The firm has partner ties with central and state government programmes like Jal Jeevan Mission, PM Kusum, and the National Mission for Clean Ganga. The physical product outputs include the actual purification plants, modular units, and integrated solar + water devices for energy-constrained sites. Gan’s systems are deployed in many villages across Vidarbha and beyond, making them a rare example of product innovation coming from this region with significant scale.

These four innovators from Vidarbha demonstrate that meaningful, physical innovation is possible beyond major urban centres and traditional R&D hubs.

Their products range from a silicone vascular implant to bamboo QR codes, solar stills, and water purification plants. In each case, the path involved ideation, material design, testing or prototyping, and in some cases patenting or scaling.

Their work spans disciplines, biomedical, environmental tech, craft engineering, and bridges rural and urban realms. They do not represent a complete list of all innovators in the region, but they illustrate diverse models of product creation in Vidarbha. These stories may inspire attention to the ecosystem conditions, funding, institutional support, and diffusion channels needed so that more such physical innovations emerge from regions like Vidarbha.