Washington An Indian tech-firm has won a whopping grant of over USD 450,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to set up eco-friendly and hygienic "eToilets", making public conveniences more accessible to the urban poor.

Thiruvananthapuram-based Eram Scientific Solutions Private Limited was awarded the grant as part of the foundation's second round of 'Reinvent the Toilet Challenge' grants totalling nearly USD 3.4 million.