IIT Kharagpur Tests a Solar-Powered Cart That Goes Home at Night

By Nathan Brooks

IIT Kharagpur’s Nagar Udyam pilot launched during this year’s Durga Puja with a three-wheeled cart offering solar power, cashless payments and a roughly 30-kilometre range. Owners can tow it behind a motorcycle, take the business home overnight and move toward customers next morning, according to the institute. The model avoids a shop, permanent infrastructure and roadside occupation after hours.

IIT Kharagpur calls Nagar Udyam a pioneering solar-powered smart street-vending initiative, conceived by Director Prof. Suman Chakraborty through SETU Cloud Kitchen Connect. The institute says it aims to popularize sustainable micro-entrepreneurship.

At the inauguration, Prof. Chakraborty and Siddharth Singh Dangi, SDPO, Kharagpur, attended with several others, including small entrepreneurs. The initiative forms part of IIT Kharagpur’s Platinum Jubilee commitment to translate design and technology into tangible social and economic opportunities.

Prof. Suman Chakraborty said:

“Our ambition is not simply to redesign a street cart; it is to redesign the opportunity around the person who runs it. A business that can move with demand, return home at night and connect to clean energy and digital finance can turn an opportunity seeker into a job creator.

That is the kind of technology translation IIT Kharagpur stands for,”

What does this change for street vendors?

IIT Kharagpur says vendors can position the compact cart where customers concentrate, then return it to a home-storage unit after business. A vendor could serve commuters in one part of the day and a campus or community gathering later, without a costly permanent storefront. The roughly 30-kilometre range remains subject to operational and road-safety validation.

The practical change is flexibility without permanently claiming road space. According to IIT Kharagpur, the design aims to protect livelihoods and pedestrian access while letting vendors operate with dignity and avoid trouble with authorities. Those benefits depend on appropriately authorised vending, traffic safeguards, lawful locations and coordination with civic authorities.

IIT Kharagpur says the cart includes:

• A solar-cum-battery renewable-energy system for essential low-power functions, supported by compact battery storage.
• The SETU digital backbone, with QR-enabled identification, cashless payments, training and pathways to financial inclusion.
• Built-in hygiene features: protected food display, food-grade surfaces and three-way waste segregation.

From a campus pilot to a state framework

IIT Kharagpur says the launch evaluated the pilot across six areas:

• Food safety.
• Operational efficiency.
• Environmental performance.
• Mobility.
• Vendor experience.
• Consumer response.

The institute intends to use the evidence for a prospective West Bengal Smart Street Vendor Framework. The proposed framework would cover cart standards, food-safety practices, space management and measurable social outcomes. Further envisaged elements include food-safety status access, grievance redressal and data-assisted governance.

IIT Kharagpur hopes to replicate Nagar Udyam across West Bengal. According to Siddharth Singh Dangi, that requires disciplined implementation, safe movement and compliance with local rules. The institute also says the model needs lawful operating locations, traffic safeguards and coordination with civic authorities.

Siddharth Singh Dangi, SDPO, Kharagpur, said:

“The best solutions for our streets must protect livelihoods as well as public safety. A mobile, identifiable and responsibly operated vending unit offers an interesting way to reduce permanent obstruction while preserving economic opportunity. The key will be disciplined implementation, safe movement and compliance with local rules.”

The institute presents the campus launch as a test of both equipment and governance. If the roughly 30-kilometre cart proves safe and workable under local rules, IIT Kharagpur says the model could let someone unable to afford a permanent shop build a business and, over time, create jobs for others.