Bio-based air filtration · INDIA
Delhi student whose bio-based alternative to synthetic HEPA filter media (compressed wool felt, electrostatic cotton) was felicitated at the 12th INSPIRE-MANAK NLEPC (Oct 2026); overall winner, InnoHEALTH Young Innovators Awards (Jan 2026). Journey began with a 2024 INSPIRE Award at Lilavati Vidya Mandir; now IB DP-1 at DPS R. K. Puram; founder of PraaNavya.
No age published by any official or independent source
Delhi · India
BEHIND THE RESULT
Among the 62 students felicitated at the 12th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition of the INSPIRE Awards–MANAK in New Delhi in October 2026 was Tanjot Singh, a student of Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram, where he is in the IB DP-1 class. His project asks a practical question: can the synthetic HEPA filter media inside air purifiers — effective, but thrown away every few months — be replaced with bio-based materials?
His school records the route. The work began in 2024, while he was at Lilavati Vidya Mandir School, with an INSPIRE Award of ₹10,000; he qualified through the State Level Exhibition in December 2025, received mentorship at IIT Delhi in February 2026, and exhibited at Bharat Mandapam from 12 to 14 October 2026. The system is developed through PraaNavya, the venture he founded: his school describes a prototype built on compressed wool felt and electrostatic cotton, put through internal particulate-removal experiments and comparative pressure-drop testing against a HEPA filter benchmark. In January 2026 the same work was declared the overall winner of the Young Innovators Awards at the InnoHEALTH conference, where the jury praised the clarity of his problem statement and the idea’s potential to scale.
A purifier filter has to be thrown away every few months — if the clean air comes with a growing pile of waste, what would you build instead? That is a question from us, not part of his record.
Source-based story · the activities are prompts for readers.
Open the article edition →Delhi student whose bio-based alternative to synthetic HEPA filter media (compressed wool felt, electrostatic cotton) was felicitated at the 12th INSPIRE-MANAK NLEPC (Oct 2026); overall winner, InnoHEALTH Young Innovators Awards (Jan 2026). Journey began with a 2024 INSPIRE Award at Lilavati Vidya Mandir; now IB DP-1 at DPS R. K. Puram; founder of PraaNavya.
2026-10-14 · Supporting source ↗
Delhi Public School R. K. Puram · school report, October 2026 ↗School report
PIB · 12th NLEPC cohort report (via NE India Broadcast) ↗Official event report
Original source ↗
Accessible design — talking medicine boxTelangana · India
Hyderabad student of Devnar School for the Blind — visually impaired himself — whose Smart Medicine Box for the Visually Challenged (five compartments, Braille prescription slot, voice playback of name/dose/time) was one of Telangana’s five national winners at the 12th INSPIRE-MANAK NLEPC (Oct 2026), per The New Indian Express. Now studying Intermediate; preparing for JEE Main/EAMCET.
No age published; matriculation completed, now studying Intermediate
Read the story →The New Indian Express ↗Source photograph · see credit
