Pune-based inventor Pradeep Borge (28) might not have found academics or his undergraduate course in engineering very stirring, but as he likes to say, his mind “works in more innovative ways outside the classroom”. It was perhaps for this reason that he came up with, and developed, a sugarcane juicer that is fully automatic and runs solely on solar power.

Sweet invention: According to Pradeep Borge, his sugarcane juice machine will not only save money and energy, but will also ensure better hygiene, as it is a closed unit.

Invited to a conference (second edition of the National Social Innovation Seminar) held in the city last week, for social inventors and entrepreneurs like him, Borge revealed his creation – developed in December 2011 - and announced that he has now begun selling the machine to local juice vendors.