On the tender age of 17, Suhani Chauhan, a Class 12 scholar is making waves with a design that empower farmers by lowering manufacturing prices and boosting crop yields, serving to them obtain better effectivity and profitability of their farming practices. Her So-Apt Agro automobile is an progressive, solar-powered farming automobile that guarantees to be a boon for farmers with potential to chop down carbon emissions by 2,72,000 metric tonnes.
Suhani was a Class 7 scholar when a faculty subject journey to the farms of Manesar ignited a spark inside Suhani. “I noticed the farmers toiling all day and I couldn’t assist however really feel sympathetic for them. What shook me probably the most, although, have been the heartbreaking statistics on farmer suicides. That’s after I knew I needed to do one thing to assist,” she says.
The sight of the struggles sparked a willpower inside her to seek out options for the struggling agricultural group, significantly for small-scale farmers. Fuelled by a deep-seated ardour for social change, she launched into a journey that in the end led to her receiving the distinguished Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award, a recognition bestowed upon younger people who’ve made extraordinary contributions to society.
“Swapping simply 1% of tractors with the So-Apt Agro automobile, we may save an estimated Rs 217 million in diesel prices yearly, whereas concurrently chopping down carbon emissions by 2,72,000 metric tonnes yearly, which is a big step in the direction of each financial and environmental sustainability,” the 17-year-old innovator tells The Higher India.
From paper to actuality
A 12 months later, when Suhani was in Class 8, an concept struck her. She sketched out a number of designs on a bit of paper. “I confirmed my science trainer my concepts, and a 12 months later, I utilized for a copyright and began engaged on creating the So-Apt automobile,” she remembers. Her sketches quickly manifested into actuality giving form to the So-Apt Agro.
The automobile is a flexible, solar-powered farming resolution that serves as a multi-functional software for farmers. Not like conventional tractors, which may price upwards of Rs 5 lakh, the So-Apt automobile is designed to be an economical different for economically weaker farmers.
With a value level of round Rs 2 lakh, it goals to scale back the monetary burden on small farmers, permitting them to entry trendy farming gear with out the hefty prices related to diesel-powered autos. “My objective is to convey down the value from Rs 2 lakh throughout mass manufacturing, making the So-Apt Agro automobile much more reasonably priced for farmers,” Suhani says.
Constructing the So-Apt automobile was no simple job. Suhani confronted a number of obstacles alongside the best way, starting from technical difficulties to managing time. “As a younger scholar, it was difficult, however I discovered so much. I labored hands-on in constructing the prototype and consulted with professionals, electricians, and mechanics to convey my imaginative and prescient to life,” she says. The method was extremely time-consuming, with Suhani dedicating her mornings to planning her work and her evenings to examine in with herself to see how a lot progress she had made.
Suhani’s faculty, Amity Worldwide, Pushp Vihar, and her dad and mom have been instrumental in supporting her endeavours. Amity College, Noida, supplied essential steerage, serving to her refine the undertaking and conduct subject analysis with farmers, which considerably improved the automobile’s design.
Enhancing design and efficiency of So-Apt
“The suggestions I acquired from farmers was invaluable,” Suhani shares. “They helped me perceive the true challenges they face and guided me in making changes. For instance, one of many important suggestions was to extend the vertical spherence of the automobile, which I’m presently engaged on bettering.”
“Farmers additionally instructed bettering the tires, which I’m refining for manufacturing. I’m additionally engaged on making the So-Apt automobile smarter. As I improve the automobile’s vitality capability and add extra instruments, I’m fastidiously balancing efficiency and value to make sure it stays an economically viable resolution for small farmers,” she provides.
The So-Apt Agro automobile is provided with a variety of options designed to make farming simpler and extra sustainable. It contains transportable instruments, reminiscent of a hole-drilling software, a seed-sowing software, an irrigation software, and spraying for fertilisers and pesticides. These options permit farmers to make use of the automobile as a multi-purpose software, lowering the necessity for a number of separate machines.
One of many standout facets of the So-Apt automobile is its solar-powered design. “I’ve at all times been inclined in the direction of sustainability, and I needed to create one thing that was environmentally pleasant,” says Suhani. The automobile operates totally on solar energy, which reduces the reliance on costly diesel and petrol, a serious price burden for farmers. As well as, the photo voltaic panels on the automobile present an vitality reserve that can be utilized for different functions, additional enhancing its worth.
However Suhani didn’t cease there. She included a backup engine that can be utilized throughout the wet season or at night time, guaranteeing that the automobile stays practical even throughout unfavourable circumstances. This mixture of solar energy and backup vitality makes the So-Apt automobile a very sustainable resolution for farmers in India.
How So-Apt is about to rework agriculture
Suhani’s dedication to sustainability is clear in her design. “India is a rustic wealthy in photo voltaic vitality, and I consider that harnessing this useful resource might be extraordinarily helpful for farmers,” she says. The automobile’s photo voltaic panels are designed to final for a number of years, and Suhani is engaged on growing the vitality reserve to make the automobile much more environment friendly.
The event of So-Apt has been a journey of fixed iteration, fueled by suggestions from the farming group. “I’ve spoken to over 1,000 farmers, proven them the So-Apt automobile, and listened to their suggestions. Via numerous conversations and analysis, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of their challenges and the way my automobile could make a distinction. The enjoyment and appreciation I see on their faces, figuring out that younger folks like me are working to assist them, retains me motivated every single day,” Suhani explains.
When requested about her future plans for So-Apt, Suhani says, “I’m engaged on including a GPS system to assist farmers monitor which components of their subject they’ve lined whether or not it’s for planting, irrigating, or making use of fertilisers. This may make the farming course of extra environment friendly.” She’s additionally incorporating a pH calculator to monitor soil health, additional enhancing the automobile’s performance and making it an much more worthwhile software for farmers.
Suhani can be specializing in making the automobile smarter and simpler to make use of for farmers. “The objective is to create a automobile that’s not solely reasonably priced but in addition user-friendly. Farmers ought to have the ability to function it while not having technical experience,” she says. This give attention to simplicity and performance is on the coronary heart of the So-Apt automobile’s design.
Profitable the Rashtriya Bal Puraskar
Suhani’s unwavering dedication and tireless effort have definitely not escaped consideration. In January 2024, she was honoured with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award. “I bear in mind my mom calling me and telling me I gained the award. Phrases couldn’t describe what I used to be feeling at that second,” Suhani remembers. Suhani is the only recipient within the class of Innovation and the one honoree from Delhi to obtain this highest Nationwide Award for kids.
The interplay with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was significantly memorable for Suhani. “I requested him about solar energy, and he appeared genuinely enthusiastic about it. He shared how sustainability was vital to him, and that actually motivated me,” Suhani says. “It was an unimaginable expertise to talk with him about the way forward for renewable vitality and the way younger folks like me can contribute to this motion.”
“Seeing Suhani’s compassionate coronary heart at such a young age, when she felt for the farmers and needed to assist them, was really inspiring. Her willpower to show her concept right into a actuality, from sketching prototypes to gathering scrap for the So-Apt Agro automobile, was unwavering. As dad and mom, we have been privileged to witness her journey and help her each step of the best way. Receiving the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award was a surreal second, a validation of her onerous work and a testomony to the facility of youthful innovation,” shares Pooja Chauhan, her mom.
Trying forward, Suhani is targeted on scaling the So-Apt Agro automobile to achieve extra farmers and communities. She is presently in talks with corporations to switch the know-how and convey the automobile to market. “My final objective is to make So-Apt out there to farmers throughout India,” she says. “There’s an enormous potential for this know-how, and I consider it may possibly make an actual distinction within the lives of small farmers.”
Suhani has discovered an important deal by her journey with So-Apt, and she or he has a message for different younger innovators who’re simply beginning out. “Any concept is a good suggestion,” she says. “After I was brainstorming for So-Apt, I had so many concepts. A few of them didn’t work, however all of them helped me refine the ultimate product. Don’t be afraid to experiment and discover.”
“There have been so many moments after I felt like giving up, nevertheless it’s vital to maintain combating for what you consider in. You’ll face obstacles, however persistence is vital,” she provides.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; All photographs courtesy Suhani Chauhan.
