At DigiFest, all eyes on e-bike kit designed by the Kota team

Jaipur: Virendra Shukla is on a mission to make e-bikes accessible to commoners. This self-trained mechanic in Kota, who dropped out of school in class VI, has done the unthinkable by developing a prototype of an e-bike converted from an old petrol bike.
Shukla’s innovation got wings when fresh engineering graduates from Rajasthan Technical University (RTU) joined his mission. The team is projecting their product at DigiFest 2022 in Jaipur, and it is drawing large crowds.
“The prototype was revised several times, and the changes brought the desired results. Our model was approved by IIT Kanpur and BHU. Our next task was to look for an investor and build a team to manufacture it. I took the help of the state government’s iStart Nest incubator cell in Kota, which helped us improve the product and find an investor,” said Shukla, who worked as a mechanic for years.
Rohini Sharma, a consultant at the incubator cell who is mentoring the project, said it has a huge business potential. “iStart is providing them space to work and innovate and also the market connection. They have already got good business avenues and are waiting for some permissions from the agencies concerned,” she said.
The team has prepared a kit that can be fitted to any two-wheeler, old or new. “We are working to bring the cost of the kit down between Rs 20,000 and 25,000, which a user can recover in two years by saving the money spent on fuel,” said Pankaj Sharma, a team member.