Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog Chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria on Monday unveiled a chip made of cow dung and claimed that it significantly reduced radiation from mobile handsets, The Indian Express reported.

Kathiria said that the chip would have to be kept inside a mobile handset and claimed that using it will help one avoid diseases. He made the remarks at the launch of “Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan”, a nationwide campaign aimed at promoting cow dung products.

“You must have heard a few days ago that the actor Akshay Kumar… He has eaten cow dung,” the commission’s chief said at the event. “You can eat it. It’s medicine. But we have forgotten our science.” Kathiria’s statement was in reference to the actor’s remarks that he drinks cow urine every day for “Ayurvedic” reasons.

The chip, called Gausatva Kavach, was manufactured by Shrijee Gaushala, an animal shelter in Rajkot, Gujarat. The agency is a part of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and was set up on February 6, 2019, by the Centre.

Kathiria said that the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog has initiated a research project on cow dung. “We want to have research on these subjects which we consider a myth,” he said.

The commission’s chief said that over 500 gaushalas are manufacturing the anti-radiation chips. “They are available for Rs 50 to Rs 100 each,” he said. “One person is exporting such chips to the United States, where it is sold at about $10 each.”

Kathiria said they were trying to popularise the “anti-radiation properties of cow dung.” He said that all cow-dung products are anti-radiation. “All this has been approved by science,” he added.

When asked whether the chips were certified by a government laboratory, he said that the chips were not certified but tested and one can conduct the test even at a college laboratory.

The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog is aiming to reach 11 crore families to ignite 33 crore cow dung diyas (earthen lamps) during the Diwali festival. “The feedback received so far is very encouraging and approximately 3 lakh Diyas will be ignited in the holy city of Ayodhya alone, 1 lakh diyas will be lit in holy city of Varanasi,” it said in a statement. It added that the cow dung products will help make the environment cleaner and healthier and also make gaushalas self-reliant.

The process to manufacture cow dung-based products such as diyas, candles, incense sticks, paper-weight, hardboard, wall-piece, and idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi has already begun.