The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has highlighted the success of its Nagar Udyam initiative that was launched as a pilot within the campus during Durga Puja this year.
That is the kind of technology translation IIT Kharagpur stands for,” Prof Chakraborty had said during the launch. This is a pioneering solar-powered smart street vending initiative, conceptualised by Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur, through its SETU Cloud Kitchen Connect. The aim is to popularise the concept among micro-entrepreneurs, allowing them to do business in a sustainable manner. This model allows a business to start without renting a shop, building permanent infrastructure or occupying roadside space after working hours. It enables an entrepreneur to take an entire business home at night and move it towards customers the next morning. “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. The initiative suggests a fresh approach to public-space management: vending with clearer identification, better food practices, mobility and reduced permanent obstruction. These benefits will depend on practical traffic safeguards, lawful operating locations and coordination with civic authorities. As stated by Shri Siddharth Singh Dangi, SDPO, Kharagpur, “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 launch at the IIT Kharagpur campus evaluated food safety, operational efficiency, environmental performance, mobility, vendor experience and consumer response. Evidence from the pilot is intended to inform a prospective West Bengal Smart Street Vendor Framework, covering cart standards, food-safety practices, space management and measurable social outcomes. In this micro-startup vision, someone who cannot afford a permanent shop may still be able to build a business — and, over time, create jobs for others. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
It has a range of about 30 km, subject to operational and road-safety validation. Its proposed mobility over roughly 30 kilometres offers a route to wider customer access. Apart from Prof. Chakraborty, Siddharth Singh Dangi, SDPO, Kharagpur and several others, including small entrepreneurs, were present during the inauguration of the project. This is part of the institute’s Platinum Jubilee commitment to translate design and technology into tangible social and economic opportunities. The project involves a small three-wheeled cart that can be towed by the owner’s motorcycle. This will enable the entrepreneur to move to where there is demand. Once the day’s business is done, the home-storage unit can be taken home, thereby clearing up public road space. The cart has solar-cum-battery renewal-energy-enabled essential low-power functions, with compact battery storage. The carts have the SETU digital backbone, including QR-enabled identification, cashless payments, training and pathways to financial inclusion. They also have built-in hygiene, with protected food display, food-grade surfaces and three-way waste segregation. Through the campus demonstration, IIT Kharagpur hopes to replicate the model across West Bengal, allowing street vendors to operate with dignity, without getting into trouble with the authorities. The compact vending structure can be towed by the owner behind a motorcycle, positioned at suitable places of concentrated demand and taken back home after business hours. A vendor could potentially cater to commuters in one part of the day and to a campus or community gathering later, without being tied to a costly permanent storefront. This changes the equation for both livelihoods and urban space. Rather than treating the entrepreneur’s business and pedestrian accessibility as competing priorities, the design aims for flexible, appropriately authorised vending that does not permanently claim a portion of the road. Further envisaged elements include food-safety status access, grievance redressal and data-assisted governance.