Genesis 
Normally people separate husk, stones etc. from rice by wind winnowing using handmade or woven winnowing basket or pedestal fans. One has to drop the grains by shaking the basket held above head height in front of that the fan so that air blows out the lighter chaff from among the falling grains. This is a tedious, drudgery prone and time consuming process. One day while working, he got this idea to develop a rice grain sorting machine. He thought instead of holding the grain basket in hand, if he could use a container on stand from where the grains could be dropped in front of the fan, it would then take less physical work. Then he added four separate compartments with separate outlets to deliver sorted grains. The whole machine looked like a big box with an uncleaned grain container on top of it.

The rice grain sorter 
This is wooden hand driven cum motorized rice grain sorting device. Blower fan is provided to perform winnowing operation, which can separate husk from grains. Separate compartments with outlets are given to sort grains in different grades. The device has ability to sort 400 to 450 kg of rice per hour into different grades like clean grains, broken grains, and separate small stones and husk. The fan speed is set to be about 280 rpm.

Not only rice or paddy also other cereals, grains and seeds can also be winnowed using this machine easily. These days, he is selling the hand driven machine at a price tag of Rs 7000 and the motored one at Rs. 10000.

He mostly makes these machines once a confirmed order has been placed. These orders not only come from individuals but also from rice mills, atta mills, near his place, in the district, surrounding areas and even some from Jharkhand. The machine is being used to separate husk from rice, mustard, sesame, wheat, etc. NIF also got in touch with about three dozen purchasers/users as well to ascertain its usefulness. The first buyer of the machine happily informed that he had purchased it about twenty eight years ago and used it for over twenty years satisfactorily. Most people mentioned that the machine helped them increase their output and thereby improve business. They also mentioned that the maintenance cost of the machine was almost negligible.

It appears that most villages around the innovators place in Birbhum and in Dumka have this machine hence the demand for the machine has reduced due to saturation. Mohan hopes that his business (of selling rice sorting machine) can pick up if demand comes from farther places. Hoping for a bright future, he says that every problem can be solved innovatively if only one thinks differently and creatively.