I’m just a message away, Minister Vaishnaw tells IIT-M’s Hyperloop team

CHENNAI: Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday visited IIT Madras's Hyperloop facility located at Discovery Satellite Campus in Thaiyur near the city.

Accompanied by IIT-M Director V Kamakoti and other faculty members and researchers of IIT-M, Vaishnaw visited the Hyperloop transportation system and its subsystem, and also interacted with the representatives of ePlane, an IIT Madras-incubated start-up that aims to launch India's First flying electric taxi.

The Union Minister also came to the main campus and interacted with researchers working on SHAKTI Microprocessor as well as students from the Centre for Innovation (CFI).

Congratulating the institute for its cutting-edge innovations, Minister Vaishnaw said, "This place is so full of so much energy that I cannot describe it. I'm so happy to see young, energetic engineers working on this new technology and doing new experiments. We are providing only small help. I think this will really lead us to some good solutions, for the country, for our people, for our start-ups, and for the world of technology as well."

Vaishnaw added, "We will extend whatever support is needed. I am just a message away. I am the 72nd member of the Avishkar team. Let us be very focused on the quality, safety and how do we scale up this entire experiment once we do prototypes. Keep that ultimate goal in mind."

IIT-M Director Kamakoti said, "Hyperloop is undoubtedly the next generation transportation technology that is sustainable, fast and cost-effective. IIT Madras is extremely grateful to the Minister of Railways for his continuous support to ensure the successful development of this technology."

In May 2022, the Railway Ministry had approved an allocation of Rs 8.34 crore to IIT Madras to indigenously develop and validate hyperloop transportation system and its subsystem.