Nagpur: A deadly inferno on Samruddhi Expressway that killed 25 bus passengers in 2023 left 11-year-old Avanish Bavaskar traumatised like many others. The incident, however, prompted him to innovate. The schoolboy from Amravati, now 15 years old, designed a four-chamber fuel tank for vehicles with an inbuilt fire-fighting system that gets activated on sensing fumes. The design bagged him a UK patent and his application for an Indian patent is in advanced stage of consideration.Avanish was among scores of schoolchildren who pitched their ideas at Viksit Bharat Start-Up held in the city — an event organised by Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council, Start-up mentoring firm Lemon Ideas and Nagpur University.“The fuel tank has four inter-connected chambers, which helps in dividing the load while ensuring continuous flow,” he says, flipping pages of his file, which he holds like a school assignment.“My design uses three layers. The first is made of common metal, followed by silica and a high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Finally, a sensor activates the fire-fighting system, which douses the blaze in the tank and prevents an accident,” he says. Avanish has built a prototype and working model as he looks for funds to further develop it. “I have shown it to many automobile engineers, and they say this can work,” he says with the zeal of a schoolkid.Six-year-old Abeer Chaddha from Mumbai, who walked to the stage with his mother, says he wants to become a footballer when he grows up. The sketches that every child draws at his age, of which some remain a fond memory for parents, have been turned into a brand by the Chaddhas. A giraffe, which he quickly sketches with a pen, or Elmer the elephant — a cartoon character made in his own abstract form — have made their way as prints on a whole gamut of merchandise. In a year, his drawings have fetched Rs 2 lakh as the family looks to develop a shopping platform for Abeer’s works.A trio from Pune has developed a firewall that can detect if AI apps are being used to cheat in exams or if it’s a genuine question for understanding a topic. The firewall can guess whether the user is seeking an answer to a single question. In that case, a much-simplified answer throws up and helps in understanding the topic rather than solving the problem itself, said Avyaaya Rathi, one of the founders of the start-up formed by 16-year-olds.
