The husking of dry areca nut is done manually, which is a very tedious process and requires a large number of skilled workers. Getting skilled workers during the peak season is a challenging task for the areca nut farmers. For better peeling of dry arecanuts, Narsimha modified his earlier arecanut husking machine using the relative motion between the high-speed rotating cushioned discs. A 1 hp motor powers the husking disc and a blower of 2 hp power is provided to blow away the husk. The capacity of the machine is 40 kg/h of dry arecanuts and the husking efficiency is estimated to be around 90 per cent.
A recipient of many awards and accolades like the Essel Karnataka’s Best Entrepreneur/Innovator Award, he also won the National award by National Innovation Foundation in its First National Competition for Grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge in 2001.
NIF has filed a patent (2912/CHE/2008) for the technology in the innovator’s name.