The National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), a CSIR institute at Pappanamcode here, has won the coveted CSIR-Technology Award for best innovation in 2020 for the development of a cost-effective, hand-held Raman spectrometer.
Raman spectrometers are increasingly being used for diagnostics and anti-counterfeiting applications, and in this respect, handheld versions of the equipment find huge potential, according to CSIR-NIIST.
While systems available in the market today cost between ₹10 lakh and above ₹1 crore, the hand-held device developed by the NIIST team can be configured at less than ₹1 lakh.
The device was developed by a team headed by Yoosaf Karuvath.