Ninth-grade student Shraddha Vijay Raghavan invents air purifier-cum-fertilizer wins PM Modi’s accolades

Ninth-grade student Shraddha Vijay Raghavan of Bengaluru’s Kendriya Vidyalaya, IISc has developed a device, a science project named ‘Vayuputra’ and presented it in front of PM Modi at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Jan. 29th, 2024. She won accolades and recognition from the Prime Minister who praised the idea. Her struggle with pollution and the respiratory issues she faced when she was young led her to develop “Vayuputra” to purify the air and tackle pollution with science. It is an air purifier-cum-fertilizer generator where a strong vacuum sucks the surrounding air and directs it into an enclosed chamber where a potent alkaline base captures and isolates pollutants such as harmful gases and tiny particles from the air.  The alkaline base neutralizes and effectively transforms the captured pollutants into gentle substances. Consequently, purified air enriched with oxygen is released. The by-product of the process is a nutrient-rich residue that can be used as a fertilizer. In an exclusive interview with Lokmat representative Anubha Jain, she said, "In a class 11th textbook I learned about Bernoulli’s principle and developed my prototype.” For this project, she was awarded in Kerala in Oct. 2023 at Technology Hack4Future. 

Similarly, she has also crafted a creative app, i.e., “Grandma’s Magic: Heal@Home”. Shraddha reminisced, “I was a sick child and used to suffer a lot with allergies. An insect bit me and I got rashes all over my body and got a severe allergic reaction. None of the conventional medicines worked and eventually, my grandma’s simple home remedy cured me in three days of applying it on my skin without any side effects.” She further said, “This incident and my grand-mother inspired me and realized the power of long-established knowledge and the importance of preserving it for generations to come.”

While replying to the idea of developing an app with Lokmat representative Anubha Jain, she said, “Instead of writing a book which I thought initially, I was looking at a community where everyone would be united and can access this idea through their fingertips or their mobile phones. Finally, this idea came across and we developed the app and later a website also with the intent to ensure access to home remedies by everyone which can cure any illness without any side effects.” Shraddha has collaborated with various doctors to moderate the remedies on the app.  Shraddha is trying to partner with Ayurvedic institutions and AIMS from the government to bring the “Grandma’s Magic: Heal@Home” app on a larger scale.

The app was developed by her as a part of a science project for the National Children’s Science Congress. She got the first prize and was awarded in November 2023 at the National Children’s Science Congress in Agra. Users can explore, share, and discuss home remedies for different illnesses. The app is simple and tech-enabled including AI Chatbot to use it with ease.

Under the mentorship and guidance of her grandfather 74-year-old V. Babu Sathian a metallurgist at IISc and her father, Shraddha wants to become a botanist due to her immense fondness for plants and the environment. In the end, Shraddha said, “I want to study Botany, especially “Plant Toxicology” at a foreign University.”