In the village of Gidigere, near Mangalore, Karnataka, people were surprised to see a chip implanted in a soap manufactured by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) this Thursday.

Some even claimed a camera was inserted in the chip to capture images of people bathing!

HUL claims that this is only a rumor. There is certainly no camera but a chip is definitely in the soap. It seems the chip is part of a consumer research for checking the hygienic measures taken in rural areas under the aegis of Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna program which began in 2002 for ensuring rural health and hygiene in India.

They plan to benefit from the research by devising strategies based on the data generated to improve soap usage and reduce child illnesses.

The microchip in the soap acts as a motion sensor that monitors consumer behavior in terms of the way the soap is used.

For the study, HUL requested marketing agency AIM to conduct it on their behalf and has also taken the written consent from the people coming under this study.

According to a HUL spokesperson the complaint was not raised by one of the participants but by another person not covered in the study