ANS I Dhanbad: A group of young innovators developed groundbreaking agricultural equipment poised to revolutionize farming practices. Their inventions include an all-in-one agricultural aid for farmers, a salvation stick, and the Khetrakshak, an innovative tool designed to shield farmlands from locust swarm attacks.
These bright minds, hailing from ten different schools across various regions of Jharkhand, recently converged at the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian School of Mines (IIT-SIM) in Dhanbad. They participated in the culminating week of the Jharkhand School Innovation Challenge (JH-SIC 2023).
During a press conference held at the Naresh Vashisht Centre for Tinkering and Innovation (NVCTI), Professor Pankaj Mishra, Acting Dean of Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship, highlighted the remarkable achievements of the selected teams from the ten participating schools. These schools included Savitri Devi DAV Public School, Namupara; DBMS English School, Jamshedpur; Delhi Public School, Bokaro; Hill Top School, East Singhbhum; Loyola School, East Singhbhum; DAV Public School CCL, Giridih; DAV Public School, Koylanagar; Mahendramuni Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Madhupur Deoghar; DAV Public School, CCL, NTS, Barkakana; and SDSM School for Excellence, East Singhbhum.
These dedicated teams had worked tirelessly to develop innovative solutions to transform the agricultural landscape. Their inventions demonstrate their commitment to addressing real-world challenges and showcase their potential to drive progress in the farming sector and beyond.
These teams had worked diligently to bring their innovative projects to life with the guidance of experts at IIT (ISM).
Professor Mishra mentioned that after presenting their meticulously crafted models, an expert panel would evaluate them, with the winners set to be announced during an award ceremony scheduled for the following day at the institute’s Golden Jubilee Lecture Theatre. The Vice Chancellor of Jharkhand Technical University, Professor DK Singh, is expected to grace the event as the chief guest.
Rajen Dasgupta, the Executive Officer of NVCTI, expressed his enthusiasm for the innovation challenge, emphasizing that the projects developed by the participating teams were ready for commercialization. He assured continued support to help these innovations scale up for commercial use.
The JH-SIC 2023 contest promises substantial rewards for the winners. The top three achievers will receive prizes of Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000, and Rs 20,000, respectively, while the fourth and fifth-place finishers will be acknowledged with consolation prizes of Rs 10,000 each.
Notably, one of the standout innovations presented at the event is the “Krishi Bot,” an all-in-one farmer’s aid, created by a team of three students from DAV Public School, Koylangar. Tuhin, one of the team members, explained the project’s primary focus on enhancing productivity, improving resource management, and fostering financial inclusion for Indian farmers.
The Krishi Bot is designed to alleviate the challenges faced by farmers using manual and inefficient methods for sowing, irrigation, levelling, and moisture monitoring in their fields.
Tuhin further elaborated on the multifunctional capabilities of their all-in-one equipment, emphasizing its ability to till the soil, plough, sow seeds, irrigate the soil, and level it effectively. The aid was developed collaboratively by Tuhin and two other talented students from the school, Samrat Bosse and Ayush Arpit Nayak. Their innovation represents a promising step forward in modernizing and streamlining agricultural practices for the benefit of farmers nationwide.