Induced AI to Karya: AI startups to look forward to in 2024
Compiled by: Team GI Youth
(January 3, 2024) In the fast-changing world of tech and new ideas, young Indian entrepreneurs are making waves with their cool AI startups. These startups are getting attention for using artificial intelligence to do good things. These smart young minds are using AI to solve big problems our society faces and make things better. Now, in 2024, these startups are showing a new era of clever ideas. They’re not just proving how talented young Indians are in tech, but also showing they want to use AI to help our communities and the whole world. These startups are like guiding lights, giving us hope and making us excited about a future where AI does good things for everyone.
Karya
“Karya brings dignified, digital work to economically disadvantaged Indians, giving them a pathway out of poverty. We empower individuals and communities with fair economic opportunities through completing high-quality data annotation services for AI/ML clients. We envision an ecosystem of ethical data usage; a world where data can both financially and technologically empower individuals,” reads Manu Chopra’s LinkedIn profile.
Manu Chopra with members of Karya
Launched in 2021 by Manu Chopra, a Stanford graduate who himself grew in a basti (slum) in Delhi, saw poverty first hand. While studying computer engineering at Stanford, the idea of tech-for-good inspired him and he was keen to explore ways to tackle poverty by giving the poor access to dignified, digital work. With almost everyone having access to a mobile phone, he decided to use Indian languages to unlock economic value for rural India. “The idea in my head was, what if we could bypass skilling? Can we give people a livelihood and money for skills they already have? What is the skill that rural India already has? Their language,” Manu said in an interview.
The AI startup has already helped 30,000 rural Indians earn ₹65 million so far.
2023 saw 16-year-old Pranjali Awasthi make headlines as her venture Delv.AI, that offers services linked to data extraction for research, raised $45000 (₹3.7 crore) at a valuation of ₹100 crore. For someone who has been learning coding from the age of seven from her dad, things shifted when she moved to Florida a few years ago. She began interning with the Florida Internal University lab that was working on machine learning, and her daily tasks included searching, data extraction and generating literature reviews.
Pranjali Awasthi, the founder of Delv.ai
2020 came with a massive opportunity when OpenAI released its ChatGPT-3 beta version. “I knew we could use it to make extracting and summarizing research data easier,” she said. The very next year, she was accepted into an accelerator program, and in 2022, she launched the beta version of Delv.AI on Product Hunt, a platform that allows people to share software for free. “As more content gets uploaded online, it’s getting harder for people to find the right information, especially when that information is very specific. Delv.AI helps researchers leverage AI to find exactly the information they’re looking for,” she wrote on her blog on the website.
Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak became overnight entrepreneurial stars as the teenager’s AI startup is backed by none other than Open AI co-founder Sam Altman. In 2023, they raised $2.3 million in funding for their startup – Induced AI, which empowers businesses to imput their workflows in plain English, instantly transforming these instructions into pseudo-code for handling repetitive tasks, typically managed by back offices.
Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak, the founders of Induced AI
It all began with cold emailing and a few trips to San Francisco to meet some of the Bay Area’s tech and VC titans. That’s when they met Sam Altman, and a few meetings and emails later, he decided to backup these two Indian teenagers. Induced AI enhances business workflows efficiently. “It’s not meant to book a flight ticket or write an email. It’s designed for specific processes and tasks, like generating leads at 9 am every day, or collating insurance claims,” Aryan said.
Deepfake menace created quite a havoc in 2023, and now Kroop AI has come up with a potential solution as the startup aims to help detect manipulated videos online. Dr Jyoti Joshi, the co-founder of Kroop AI which was launched in 2021, says, “The problem is very niche and in the Asia Pacific region, there are no companies (dealing with it). The threat is new and so is the whole set-up around its detection.”
The co-founders of Kroop AI
Kroop AI has an API as well as a website where one can upload a piece of media, a file or a folder to scan the potential manipulation. The website offers a simple probability assessment for video manipulation, whereas the tool provides a comprehensive analysis, specifying the percentage of manipulation and detailing the aspects of the video that have been altered. Users are charged an average of $1 per minute for the video analysis service.
(November 5, 2022 ) Aman Anubhav lives in Sikahar, a village in the interiors of Gaya, the sacred city of Bihar. Nestled into the forest, the weather is cool all year round with the temperature difference between the main town and Sikahar varyies up to five degrees. “In the night it gets very dark here. So, I grew up watching lots of stars and constellations. My father became astronomy teacher, helping me understand the wonders of the natural science” says the teenager. The founder of DeuxStem, which teaches space science to the layman, Aman received his first smartphone only when the pandemic hit and classes were moved online. With it, his knowledge grew multifold over the next couple of years, so much so that Aman is already passing on what he has learned to the less privileged. During the pandemic, the family faced such dire financial constraints that Aman even had to quit studying at a private school and enroll temporarily in the local village school. Still, he persevered. Currently studying in Class 12 at Delhi Public School, Bodh Gaya, Aman educates people about physics, astronomy and aerospace through his website, social media and YouTube channel, has received appreciation
lass="size-full wp-image-23868 aligncenter" src="https://www.globalindian.com/youth//wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Aman_image.jpg" alt="Indian Youth | Aman Anubhav | Global Indian" width="1213" height="926" />
Currently studying in Class 12 at Delhi Public School, Bodh Gaya, Aman educates people about physics, astronomy and aerospace through his website, social media and YouTube channel, has received appreciation from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and also from many other globally renowned organisations from the sphere of space science.
Apart from creating educational content, DeuxStem is working in partnership with International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC)that provides high-quality astronomical data to citizen scientists around the world, to make original astronomical discoveries and participate in hands-on astronomy.
Aman and his team have been identifying asteroids (small rocky objects that orbit the Sun) in collaboration with IASC. Two of the twelve identified asteroids are already under deep review of NASA. Deeply inclined towards the STEM subjects, Aman has also digitally developed 105 aerospace equipment designs, some of which have stood out in competitions and been acknowledged by specialists in the domain.
All about space
The sixteen-year-old student of standard 12, DPS, Bodh Gaya strives to deliver top class pedagogy in advanced STEM knowledge to the masses. “My purpose in starting DeuxStem was to put all my aerospace equipment designs, and research papers on modern physics, quantum physics, special relativity, general relativity in one place so that people can read them, and get educated.”
Within months of his initiative, he was thrilled to get an appreciation from NASA, European Space Agency, Ariane Group – an aerospace company based in France, JAXA Space Center, Japan, and astronaut Tim Peake,” he tells Global Indian.
https://youtu.be/IAPEjUQjghc
We also got a very good appreciation post from Canadian Space Agency. They even started following our organisation on social media and website. German Aerospace Centre (DLR) also acknowledged our efforts. This motivated us to create some more digital designs of aerospace equipment - Aman Anubhav
Developing aerospace equipment designs
“These days people want to go to places other than earth, and it is possible only with the help of aerospace equipment,” he smiles. Aman dreams big and doesn’t shy away from the work either and taught himself the basics of aerospace design.
As a reward, the Bihar boy has bought himself a new tablet, after having achieved so much with just a smartphone. “I was introduced to a smart phone for the first time during the Covid-19 outbreak, when my school classes shifted online. Before that, we were strictly not allowed to use them,” he says. Like any teenager, he spent his time playing games, watching videos and streaming films.
Aman explored aerospace through a game he had on his phone. “That’s how my passion for designing aerospace equipment developed,” he says. Although there is software available to create these designs, doing so requires a good amount of scientific knowledge. This he acquired through books and research papers from Springer, the German multinational publishing company, watching YouTube videos and going through relevant material available at MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. “It has some really good courses in aerospace dynamics - that helped,” he says. Aman also watched movies like Interstellar, Ad Astra and Martian.
[caption id="attachment_23873" align="aligncenter" width="839"] Aman Anubhav[/caption]
One of the designs that he is really proud of is a piece of equipment he has named Vyomgami. Derived from the Sanskrit word Vyom Shastra, the name means the scripture of aerospace. “Weather balloons are used to launch rockets to the upper atmosphere and then ejected there, helping the rocket take off without having to fight atmospheric resistance. That’s how it gets into orbit with very little fuel consumption.” Vyomgami is meant to facilitate this process.
The design of Vyomgami stood out in a competition organised by Spaceonova, an organisation that educates people about space and aerospace. He has also come up with solutions that he has named Rakshak and Pavana that can help achieve sustainable energy and clean climate.
Don’t expect the voyage to be a cruise - we should focus on research and innovation rather than scores to help secure the true act for which humans are here - 'Development' - Aman Anubhav
Aman attended one of Asia’s largest Techfest, IIT Bombay Techfest last year. Amidst the many talented young minds, he got acquainted with Roshan Naidu a VIT student who is now the co-founder of DeuxStem, taking care of the operations part of it. He has also participated in CERN - European Council for Nuclear Research conference. "I got the opportunity to interact with Dr Steven Goldfarb from University of Melbourne working at ATLAS experiments for the launch of LHC (large hadron collider), Higgs Boson, Gravity & Graviton and particles & nuclear physics," he tells.
Finding asteroids
Talking about his partnership with IASC, Aman says, “It’s a not-for-profit organisation that enjoys sponsorship from well-known research bodies like NASA, International Astronomical Union, Catalina Sky Survey etc. to equip citizen scientists with knowledge of astronomy.
IASC get pictures of the night sky directly from NASA-controlled Pan-STARRS Observatory in Hawaii. “These pictures are like data of identifying asteroids, which is a technical and tedious process.”
[caption id="attachment_23875" align="aligncenter" width="950"] The process of finding asteroid in progress[/caption]
There are certain criteria to classify an asteroid. Since it involves processing an extremely large amount of data (several Petabytes per night are captured by NASA telescope), they send it to IASC, giving citizen scientists an opportunity to make original astronomical discoveries and participate in hands-on astronomy. In collaboration with IASC, Aman and his team have educated 85 people from places like USA, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran and other countries on astronomy, hand-holding them in identifying asteroids. The discovered asteroids are then put under deep review of scientists at NASA.
“It’s such a technical and tedious process that in close to three years, we have been able to identify just about 12 preliminary stage asteroids,” says Aman.
Out of those 12, two have qualified for the probational phase of study by NASA scientists. “The process of the preliminary stage asteroids getting categorized for probational review takes another six-to-10 months. Once NASA confirms after their investigation, we will get to name the asteroids we identified,” he says.
Aman is associated with Child Rights and You (CRY), and has raised funds to support the cause. He was also selected to the prestigious LaunchX 2022 a programme hosted by MIT to promote entrepreneurship and technology. "Just about 10 percent of students who apply for the programme get selected globally for this programme," says he.
Although the programme was scheduled offline at the University of Michigan, due to covid protocols it was conducted online. With a team of students from different countries, Aman developed a startup - SEDU which was a solution to teach teenagers about the importance of sexual knowledge and removing taboos attached to it. To facilitate knowledge in a fun way he and his team developed a physical board game and a web game. Through marketing and sale they got successful in generating $285 during the five weeks course and $500 thereafter for the business model, completing the programme with flying colours.
Life and role models
Aman comes from a humble background. His father, a farmer, is still trying to recover from the losses of the pandemic, after his business shut down. It was so hard on the family that Aman had to discontinue his studies at DPS and enroll himself in the village public school for a time. “When I was in class 9, it became difficult to continue studying at the local school so I was re-admitted to DPS,” says Aman. He aims for a PhD in Astrophysics, so that he can be a researcher from “the very start.”
The Bihar teen is deeply inspired by Google CEO Sundar Pichai and relates to him a lot. “His father had to spend a year’s salary to buy him the air ticket to send him to Stanford University in the US” remarks he adding, “I too cannot afford higher education.” Like his role model he aims to bag a scholarship from a good institution to take forward his dreams.
In his free time, the youngster likes going to the farm with his father and even enjoys helping his mother in the kitchen. “It’s not very conventional for boys to work in the kitchen where I live but my mother appreciates it,” says the teen who could barely converse in English until 2019. “It was after getting my phone that I immersed myself in listening to TED talks and podcasts, and from there I have picked up the ability and confidence to speak English,” he says.
The teenager is a good example of how to put technology to good use for enhancing one’s knowledge and personality, and that if there is a will, a lot can be achieved even when the resources are limited.
(November 8, 2023) Monika Chandolu, a resident of Movva village in Krishna district in Vijayawada, got an impressive 95.4 percent in her 12th grade and qualified for the JEE Mains exam. She is confident of clearing her JEE advanced test and getting admission into a top institute. This wouldn't have been possible without the help of 16-year-old Greeshma Davu, an Indian American living in the suburb of Washington DC, who is helping many deserving students like Monika by providing financial assistance for their education. Greeshma is on a mission to empower underprivileged girls and is doing everything possible to help the girls get the right access to education, and it's her parents who are helping her in the process. She is assisting Monika in her pursuit of engineering education using Tata's Palleseva organization, which is located in Kaza village within the same mandal. [caption id="attachment_33957" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Greeshma Davu[/caption] "During a visit to my grandparent's hometown in India, I have learned about the dire consequences of inadequate education. Witnessing the lack of access to basic rights for women, I became motivated to make a difference through charity," she told a daily. While her parents have been the wind beneath her
quences of inadequate education. Witnessing the lack of access to basic rights for women, I became motivated to make a difference through charity," she told a daily.
While her parents have been the wind beneath her wings, she has been working hard to provide financial help to girls like Monika by working at Kumon learning centers, as well as working as an intern at the University of Virginia Neuro Science Lab. The concept of aiding the underprivileged by offering education took shape during her visit to India, where she saw distressing situations in which women encountered hardships because of their limited access to education.
In addition to her commitment to academics and sports, the teenager is also actively involved in charitable work through her non-profit organization, 'Care 4 Needy,' which extends its assistance to both Indian and American communities. 'Care 4 Needy' was founded in January 2022, with the initiative stemming from the vision of Greeshma's mother and founder, Srilatha Tata, along with her maternal uncle, Pavan Kumar Tata. Greeshma and her uncle, Anil Kumar Tata, serve as co-founders of the organisation.
This dual-pronged dedication to education and community service exemplifies their family's commitment to making a positive impact both locally and abroad through 'Care 4 Needy.'
Apart from charitable work, Greeshma has demonstrated her academic prowess by achieving the sixth position in the State Technology Student Association (TSA) conference, showcasing her excellence in this field. Simultaneously, she is passionate about sports and has earned a spot on the Junior Varsity Volleyball team at Rockridge High School, her former educational institution.
Furthermore, Greeshma is not only excelling in her studies and sports but also showing her commitment to social causes. Her goal is to provide sanitary napkins to women and teenagers in rural areas, and she has already managed to raise an impressive $20,000 in funds to support this vital cause. Her dedication to both academic and humanitarian pursuits is truly inspiring.
"Working at the National Institute of Health to support those suffering from lupus disease, Greeshma achieved recognition in the State Technology Student Association. With the guidance of her mentors Ravi Davu and Dr Prakash Bethapudi, she also published research on brain tumour identification," Greeshma's mother added.
(March 22, 2022) Arpan Dey was 15-years-old when a friend mentioned the Junior Academy of Sciences, a part of the prestigious New York Academy of Sciences, telling him to apply. “I never imagined I would get in, but I did send an application. I was selected,” the now 17-year-old teen physicist says, in an interview with Global Indian. Only a month earlier, in July 2020, Arpan had founded his own blog, the Journal of Young Physicists, where he presently serves as the senior physics editor. In 2021, the West Bengal-based lad also published his debut book, Our Physics So Far, an attempt to examine consciousness through metaphysics and quantum mechanics, all for laypeople. The science gene activated Raised on a diet of popular science books, combined with a flair for writing that had already manifested in poetry and short stories, it seemed only natural that Arpan Dey should venture into science communication. Brian Greene (The Elegant Universe), Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku and Steven Weinberg provided a literary diet the teenage physicist just couldn't resist. These works make up a small part of an impressive reading list. The pandemic was a busy time for the teen physicist. Aside from working on
n Hawking, Michio Kaku and Steven Weinberg provided a literary diet the teenage physicist just couldn't resist. These works make up a small part of an impressive reading list.
The pandemic was a busy time for the teen physicist. Aside from working on building scientific communities for young students, Arpan also began writing his own book. The idea of being a science communicator and bringing the many wonders of physics to laymen seemed the next logical step, for he was already wading through complex metaphysical research, smitten with great thinkers like the physicist and mathematician Roger Penrose (Shadows of the Mind) and Erwin Schrodinger (What Is Life), often hailed as the father of quantum mechanics.
“I thought there should be a place for young students to publish articles on physics,” says Arpan, about how he began his physics blog, Journal of Young Physicists, back in July 2020. He put the word out, and soon enough, had a group of people on board. The 16-member team is made up of a diverse set of students from around the world, all bound by the universe that is theoretical physics.
Quantum physics explained
Even his idea for a book began organically. “I had a collection of notes on quantum physics and I thought, ‘Why can't I write a book on this, and bring physics to the layman?’” The research alone, he says, took nearly two years to complete. What began as a bunch of notes on quantum physics became Our Physics So far (2021). In order to stand out from the others on the same subject, Arpan decided to stick with the idea of consciousness and metaphysics. “The writing itself took about three or four months after that,” recalls the teen physicist.
[caption id="attachment_13088" align="aligncenter" width="455"] Arpan Dey with his book, Our Physics So Far[/caption]
During his research on quantum physics, he came across the Young Scientists Journal, a peer-reviewed publication. "After my piece was accepted, I realised that it was being run by young students. We have professors guiding us but the editors are mostly students," adds the 12th grader. He soon took over as editor, and it has been two years since. Arpan was also a curriculum developer for project reSTEM, part of the Young Scientists Journal, which aims to develop research hubs in schools around the world. “My job is handling content while colleagues handle outreach," says the teenage theoretical physicist.
Prodigious beginnings
Arpan is hardly your garden variety science prodigy. “I wasn’t even so interested in maths and physics at first,” he confesses, smiling. Instead, he would wonder about the meaning of consciousness and from where it emerged. “These questions came naturally to me. Just as others might wonder why the sky is blue, I think about the meaning of life and death, of why we are conscious beings, and what that means,” explains the teen physicist. His parents, Arpita, a homemaker and Arun Kumar Dey, a teacher of economics, and his faculty at Delhi Public School in Burdwan, West Bengal, encouraged him. His father Arun also runs his own institution and was only too happy to bring his son books to read.
The first book to trigger his interest in the universe wasn’t on physics. Instead, it began with a copy of David Eagleman’s The Brain: The Story of You. “My interest in the idea of consciousness came because of my fascination with the human brain. I read Eagleman and that led me to ask if physics can answer the question of consciousness,” says the teenage theoretical physicist. Similar questions, he found were being raised in quantum physics and quantum mechanics. “I decided I wanted to study consciousness through a physics perspective,” he says. Thus began his tryst with Penrose, Hawking and Schrodinger, setting him firmly on the path to becoming a theoretical physicist himself.
In the early days, he was working to build a network of scientists with whom he corresponded. “I have interviewed Edward Witten,” he says, of the American mathematical and theoretical physicist who is the winner of the Fields Medal, the Dirac Medal, Albert Einstein Medal and a MacArthur Fellowship. The Young Scientists Journal published the interview in August 2020. “I would email professors and physicists with my ideas,” Arpan explains. “I would find them online, and reach out, some responded. Two years ago, when I came up with a quantum physics idea that used a modified Schrodinger equation. I needed to know the implications of the model.” One of his first mentors, the teenage theoretical physicist says, was Saumen Datta, of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
An avid reader, Arpan loves fiction, enjoys Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and Feluda. His creative leaning is towards short stories (sci-fi and detective), and poems. Musically inclined, Dey composes music, writes songs and collaborates with vocalists. His songs are on his Youtube page, Arpan Amplified.
(May 12, 2024) Ever since she was little, R Vaishali found herself drawn to an 8x8 square grid with alternating dark and light squares - a chessboard. She would spend hours learning the game and coming up with strategies to oust her opponents. She harboured the dream of becoming a grandmaster someday, and that day finally arrived this month when R Vaishali was named India's 84th Grandmaster. "Achieving the title was a dream come true," said the 22-year-old chess player, who is the sister of Pragganandhaa, India's youngest Grandmaster. Vaishali achieved the necessary 2500 ELO points during the Llobregat Open tournament in Spain, making her the third Indian woman, following Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, to attain the title of Grandmaster. Nevertheless, she received the title officially during the FIDE Council meeting at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto last month. "Yeah, it took some time to get it official, but I'm happy that the title is finally out. I was okay with it (the delay)," the Global Indian said. [caption id="attachment_37771" align="aligncenter" width="619"] R Vaishali is India's 84th Grandmaster[/caption] The long wait In 2018, she achieved the title of Woman Grandmaster after fulfilling her final norm at the Riga Technical
youth//wp-content/uploads/2024/05/vaish1-1024x683.jpg" alt="R Vaishali | Global Indian" width="619" height="413" /> R Vaishali is India's 84th Grandmaster[/caption]
The long wait
In 2018, she achieved the title of Woman Grandmaster after fulfilling her final norm at the Riga Technical University Open in Riga, Latvia. However, she had to wait for six long years to obtain the GM title, and those years filled her with doubt, especially after her ratings stagnated due to the lack of competition during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In between, I could not play any tournament for two years due to the (Covid-19) pandemic. But I was working throughout, trying to improve my game. I completed my International Master (IM) cycle post-pandemic (in 2021)," she said, adding, "Although I was improving my game slowly, my rating became stagnant. There were some low moments when I felt I might not get the title, but people believed in me and helped me to attain it."
It was only a week before the Llobregat Open tournament in Spain that R Vaishali decided to participate as she was just short of three points to achieve the title of Grandmaster. "My only goal to participate in the tournament was to get the title, and I was glad that I achieved it in the first two rounds," said the Arjuna Awardee.
[caption id="attachment_37773" align="aligncenter" width="776"] R Vaishali receives Arjuna Award[/caption]
Hooked to the boardgame
Born in Chennai to a banker father and a homemaker mother, R Vaishali got interested in chess at a young age. At the age of 12 in 2013, she scored a victory against the future World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen during a simultaneous exhibition match that Carlsen conducted while visiting her hometown of Chennai for the World Chess Championship 2013. Three years later, she attained the title of Woman International Master (WIM), and by October of the same year, she held the second rank in India and was ranked as the 12th best U16 girl player globally. During this period, her Elo rating stood at 2300.
Two Grandmasters under one roof
Growing up, she played friendly matches with her brother R Pragganandhaa. Together they are the first brother-sister duo to become Grandmasters in chess history. Talking about her relationship with Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali stated, "We talk a lot about our games, which is natural since we have been playing together since our childhood." "He helps me a lot with my game. It's great to have such a strong player at home with whom I can discuss more about the game at any time."
[caption id="attachment_37772" align="aligncenter" width="689"] R Vaishali with mom Nagalakshmi and brother Pragganandhaa[/caption]
After getting the GM title, she is now looking up to the World Championship and "playing against some of the best women chess players in the world." Though she is currently pursuing a PG Diploma course in Human Resource Management, R Vaishali is keen to pursue chess as a career. "I am in the final year of my Human Resource Management course after having completed my B Com. But I don't have any academic aspirations. I just want to complete this PG and focus on playing chess full-time and professionally," says the girl who has found her support system in her parents. While her mother accompanies her to the tournaments on most occasions, her father takes care of the logistics, planning, and finances. "In fact, both of them take care of most of our needs, which indeed helps us focus more on our game. Really grateful to them," she added.
Making the right noise - globally
It was in 1988 that Vishwanathan Anand became India's first grandmaster and now R Vaishali is the 84th Grandmaster. Calling him an inspiration for chess players in India, she said, "It all started with one man - Anand sir, and it has reached where it is now. He has brought in many changes, and his Westbridge Anand Chess Academy, of which I am a part too, has helped us train with some of the top trainers. Moreover, he inspires us and encourages us."
The game of chess has been booming in India in a big way in the last few decades, and R Vaishali credits government support. "Moreover, a lot of sponsors are coming in, and tournaments happening in India which is helping the chess players shine. As we speak, there must be someone else who must be in the making of the 85th grandmaster title," says the girl who loves dosa, and that's the one thing she wants to gorge on as soon as she returns home from a tournament.
With many Indian names shining in the world of chess, R Vaishali is certain that the future looks bright. Moreover, she believes that Fishrandom chess, also known as Chess960, is the future of chess. "Going forward, we will have more Fishrandom tournaments."
India's 84th Grandmaster, R Vaishali, is happy that she is serving as an inspiration for many upcoming chess players. "I often meet a lot of kids during tournaments and I am happy that Chess is getting its due."
(September 5, 2024) "Kalpana Chawla's story inspired many people. She came from a small town but nothing could beat her determination to dream big and achieve it. At a time when her field was largely male-dominated, she broke stereotypes to convert her dreams into a reality. Little did she know that she would inspire millions of girls like me, who were forced to back off from their dreams or not." That's how innovator and technologist Arunima Sen begins her TedX Talk. The girl whose curiosity about science and technology led her to become an innovator and a designer, is now finding solutions to the world's most pressing problems. From developing a device that determines micronutrient levels in the human body using hair strands to building a prototype of an energy-efficient solar hybrid bus to a green building, the 23-year-old is keen to find answers. The STEM enthusiast, who aspires to work towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Goals, was named a 2020 Global Teen Leader of the We Are Family Foundation and is one of The Mars Generation’s 24 under 24 Innovators in STEAM and Space. An innate love for science Growing up in Bengaluru, Sen was always surrounded by
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An innate love for science
Growing up in Bengaluru, Sen was always surrounded by discussions on varied scientific research projects, thanks to her parents, who worked at the Indian Space Research Organisation. The environment helped ignite a scientific temper and fanned her curiosity. This early interest in science found her gravitating toward global problems, for which she decided to find solutions using STEM. As she tended to her autistic brother's special needs, she would often ponder over the various problems that humans face, and try to look for solutions. For this, she would spend hours reading on the internet about scientific advancements. As she did her research, she found that technology is at the root of everything, and when combined with engineering, it can positively impact society. "As youngsters, we are the future of this country and the world. We need to come up with solutions," she told a daily.
Solving global problems
As early as Class 10, she was selected for The Junior Academy conducted by The New York Academy of Sciences - a program meant for teenagers interested in science and finding solutions to different problems. Her first project was measuring the micronutrients in a person's body, for developing countries like South Africa, India, and South-East Asia, providing data on health problems is essential. Sen, who believes that micronutrients play an important role in health, worked on a prototype called Arduino Pro Mini that gives an exact measure of micronutrients in the body. "We wanted to make this method non-invasive, so what we do is collect strands of hair and dip them in a particular chemical solution. Once the solution absorbs the nutrients from the hair, it is analysed via spectrophotometry. To put it in layman's terms, we measure the wavelength that the nutrients emit using spectrophotometry. By observing these wavelengths, we get to know if there is a deficiency of micro-nutrients or not," she told edexlive.
[caption id="attachment_23347" align="aligncenter" width="422"] Arunima Sen with PM Narendra Modi while receiving Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar[/caption]
The Global Indian collaborated with like-minded students from Poland, Finland, and the USA to develop a cost-effective device. "It is small and has a spectral response range of 320-1000 mm, a range that works for all micronutrients that our project is working with. It is designed to be used either via Bluetooth with a compatible phone or a tablet or with an integrated touchscreen display to allow use in the most varied conditions,” Arunima said in an interview. Her research will help patients in India on a micro level.
Creating impact
Apart from it, she also worked on Homestead Greens - the high-rise buildings that can save energy and lower the emission of carbon - with students from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Norway, and Romania. While living in a locality that had frequent power cuts, she realised it wasn't a green building and produced a lot of carbon dioxide, thus adding to global warming. That's when she decided to work on a prototype of a building that was energy efficient as well as helped with harvesting rainwater - a design meant for commercial and non-commercial purposes. "One part of the building wall is covered with solar panels that help in trapping a lot of natural energy. We also have automatic lights that turn off or become dim when you leave the room. The building will also have a trellis of vines and climbers that run down the building. These plants will be watered by the rainwater harvesting system. This helps us save over a thousand litres of water," she added.
The recipient of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, who is pursuing her bachelor's in Computer Science and Physics from Ashoka University, is also a Yale Young Global Scholar of Yale University and a member of the Junior academy of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Even during the pandemic, she didn't put brakes on her work. During an interaction with the press, Arunima said, "I am currently being mentored by professionals from Sidewalk Labs — an urban innovation company working to make cities more sustainable and affordable for all. Since the pandemic had brought many discussions and assignments to a halt, my friend and I are working to resume it soon."
Arunima's journey is a powerful demonstration of the impact that determination, curiosity, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge can have. Despite the challenges she faced, she has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible, using her passion for science and technology to address some of the world's most pressing issues. Her work is not just about innovation; it is about making a tangible difference in the lives of people and the environment. She is a true changemaker, proving that age is no barrier to making a global impact.