📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Krish Dulal
Education
Delhi Teens Launch Rs 140 ‘Project Vayu’ Air Purifiers, Honored by Diana Award
✍️ NDTV Top
🗓 12 Nov 2026, 08:01 AM
👁 10
Class‑12 student Krish of Sanskriti School and Class‑11 student Samarth of Vasant Valley School have introduced Project Vayu, a low‑cost air purifier priced at roughly ₹140. Krish’s contribution secured him a spot on the 2026 Diana Award Roll of Honour.
Delhi’s two teenage innovators, Krish, a Class‑12 pupil at Sanskriti School, and Samarth, a Class‑11 student at Vasant Valley School, have teamed up to create Project Vayu – a compact air‑purifying device that can be assembled for around ₹140. The duo designed the purifier to address the city’s worsening air‑quality concerns while keeping the cost affordable for school‑going children and low‑income families.
The prototype, built using locally sourced components such as a small fan, filter material and a 3‑V battery, can filter particulate matter and improve indoor air within minutes. Both students demonstrated the device in their respective schools, encouraging peers to assemble their own units as part of a classroom activity.
Krish’s leadership in the project earned him a place on the 2026 Diana Award Roll of Honour, an international recognition that celebrates young people’s social impact. The award highlights the potential of student‑led initiatives to drive environmental change in India.
Education officials and environmental NGOs have praised the effort, noting that low‑cost solutions like Project Vayu could complement larger governmental measures to combat pollution. The students hope to scale the model nationwide, partnering with schools and community groups to distribute the kits.
The initiative underscores a growing trend of youth‑driven innovation in India, where school students are increasingly applying scientific knowledge to real‑world problems, especially in the realm of public health and climate resilience.
The prototype, built using locally sourced components such as a small fan, filter material and a 3‑V battery, can filter particulate matter and improve indoor air within minutes. Both students demonstrated the device in their respective schools, encouraging peers to assemble their own units as part of a classroom activity.
Krish’s leadership in the project earned him a place on the 2026 Diana Award Roll of Honour, an international recognition that celebrates young people’s social impact. The award highlights the potential of student‑led initiatives to drive environmental change in India.
Education officials and environmental NGOs have praised the effort, noting that low‑cost solutions like Project Vayu could complement larger governmental measures to combat pollution. The students hope to scale the model nationwide, partnering with schools and community groups to distribute the kits.
The initiative underscores a growing trend of youth‑driven innovation in India, where school students are increasingly applying scientific knowledge to real‑world problems, especially in the realm of public health and climate resilience.