Jai Dhar Gupta: A man On A mission To Clean Air

1. Can you describe how Nirvana Being is contributing to improving air quality and combating air pollution?

Ans. Nirvana Being has led from the front on not only pioneering the clean air tech space in India, but also leading on activism on this cause, as we firmly believe that ‘awareness preces change.’ The leadership of Nirvana Being was represented on the first air pollution think tank formed by the Delhi Government and we have consistently called out both the Central and Delhi Government on their failed leadership on this issue. Our instrumentation and hence data on the pollutants both outdoors and indoors is par excellence and we’ve been doing this for 10 years and counting.

2. What specific products or technologies does Nirvana Being offer to address air pollution concerns?

Ans. Nirvana Being has solutions to protect our patrons both indoors and outdoors. While the business started with us innovating and creating N99 rated washable/reusable facemasks back in 2014, now we’ve gone way beyond facemasks and can create Switzerland quality air in any micro-environment – like, your car, home, office, hotels, restaurants, clinics, cinemas, airports, etc. Depending on the air-conditioning infrastructure, we have a portfolio of solutions to drive health and well-being in your indoor space. Our values our science and sustainability are clearly represented in our product range. Lowering the energy footprint, reusable/washable filters, using upcycled/recycled materials, are some of the things that are apparent in our product portfolio.

3. How does Nirvana Being educate consumers about the importance of clean air and the potential health risks associated with air pollution?

Ans. The high levels of exposure as well as the long-term exposure is a double whammy and has been increasing morbidity and mortality year-after-year. In our early years, we spent a lot of energy educating consumers, however, there is now enough data to link air pollution not only to respiratory ailments like asthma, COPD and lung cancer, but also heart disease, diabetes, auto-immune disorder, infertility, depression, low birth weight in newborns, and frankly, the list goes on and on. We inhale 12,000 liters of air in a day, which weighs more than 14kg – more than both the food and water we consume, put together. And our air is toxic!! The pollutants enter our body through our respiratory passage and then enter our blood stream through the alveoli. Once in our blood, the toxins, microplastics and chemicals travel to all essential organs, including and not limited to our heart and brain.

4. Are there any specific regions or areas where Nirvana Being focuses its efforts on combating air pollution? If so, why?

Ans. Delhi NCR being the National Capital, home to about 60 million, and leading of the air quality monitoring infrastructure just made it easier for us to start our awareness campaign from here. Now, there’s awareness in all urban areas and it has been highlighted both locally and Globally that the years of life lost(YLL) from living and breathing in India ranges from 5-12 years, depending on where you live. It is quite clear now air pollution is driving morbidity across India, especially is more vulnerable groups like children, seniors and people with co-morbidities.

5. What are some of the biggest challenges Nirvana Being faces in its mission to promote clean air, and how does it address them?

Ans. Since air pollution is responsible for over 1.7 million deaths in India annually, the failure of the Health Ministry and both State and Central Government to call it the Pandemic that it is. While air pollution creates more morbidity and mortality than COVID-19, we have no mask mandates, no health advisories – every time we hit hazardous levels, our health, education, sports Ministries go into hiding and there’s a failure of leadership. We need leadership to step up to attack sources of emissions in our ambient air, as well as our indoor spaces, which are not only about 5-10 times worse than ambient air, but also fail on basic design that addresses ventilation, and measures to promote health and wellness.

6. How does Nirvana Being measure the impact of its products and initiatives on air quality improvement?

Ans. We are extremely scientific, and our entire product range is tested in labs like Nelson Labs, USA. Almost all our solutions involve real-time air quality monitoring, with the data being available on your mobile phones or on a dashboard for enterprise customers. Our impact is very visible and measurable real-time.

7. Can you elaborate on any innovative or unconventional approaches Nirvana Being has taken to tackle air pollution?

Ans. Here are some innovations over the past decade:

1. Launched the first reusable/washable N95 mask of India

2. Use of Recycled PET fabrics in our masks to upcycle pastic and increase the longevity of our masks

3. Use of Nanofibre filters to filter nanoparticles down to 0.1 micron >99%

4. Masks with the lowest breathing resistance, driving comfort in India

5. Advent of MERV 14 rated Electro-Static Filters for HVAC applications

6. Filters with 70% lower energy footprint than HEPA filters

7. MERV 14 filters with a 10-year guaranteed life

8. Launched first electronic portable air purifier using MESP technology – no filter changes for 10 years and 70% lower electric consumption that a HEPA air purifier

9. Launch of Ventimax 2.0, an on-demand(automated) ventilation and filtration solution for homes/offices

Most of all, the leadership at Nirvana Being has been a continuous and consistent voice and influence to reverse air pollution at a macro level.

8. How does Nirvana Being ensure accessibility and affordability of its clean air solutions to different socioeconomic groups?

Ans. Unfortunately, science and sustainability are not cheap! However, if you consider the lifetime value of our products, since air pollution doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, we deliver excellent bang for the money.

9. What are the future plans or innovations Nirvana Being is working on to further address air quality challenges?

Ans. This is our 10^th year of operation and as our knowledge and awareness of the pollutants and contaminants improves, we keep responding with responsible solutions – that, pretty much defines our journey.

10. Finally, what motivates and drives Nirvana Being to continue its work in promoting clean air, and what do you envision for the future of clean air initiatives?

Ans. We love what we do and get a lot of blessings from our customers, some of whom are sick and suffering. We really hope that the residents of India use the upcoming elections to demand clean air and an improved quality of life. This has to be addressed separately, both to reverse pollutants in our ambient air, as well as improved standards for indoor spaces with some minimum criteria for ventilation and filtration.

Website: https://www.nirvanabeing.com

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