The problem: Everyone has faced this — you’re stuck in traffic, traveling on a highway, or walking in a busy market, and suddenly you need a washroom. But public toilets? They’re either too far, too dirty, or unsafe to use. So people are forced to go in the open, which is unhygienic, embarrassing, and unsafe (especially for women and children).

The solution (Road side Washrooms): A network of clean, safe, smart washrooms placed on roadsides, bus stops, and public spaces. Each washroom is self-cleaning, has water, proper lighting, and can be located through an app or even simple QR codes nearby. They’re sustainable too—waste gets converted into biogas to power the lights and fans inside.

For example:

• Traveling on the highway? → RoadWash shows you the nearest clean washroom.

• Women in cities → lockable, safe stalls with panic buttons for security.

• Daily commuters → affordable, hygienic access instead of unsafe corners of the street.

Who benefits?

• Users: Dignity, safety, and hygiene when they need it most.

• Communities: Cleaner roads, less open urination/defecation, safer for kids and women.

• Local governments: A smart, sustainable solution that actually gets used.

• Brands/Businesses: Advertising space that funds operations.

Why does this matter? Because needing a toilet is not optional. It’s a basic human dignity issue. Dirty, unsafe public washrooms make people suffer silently — holding it in, feeling unsafe, or being forced into unhygienic conditions. A smart washroom system means health, safety, and dignity for everyone, every day.

Real-World Problem:
The world produces over 400 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with less than 10% effectively recycled. PET bottles, food wrappers, and packaging materials flood landfills, oceans, and urban landscapes. Despite global awareness, recycling remains fragmented, invisible, and uninspiring. Most citizens don’t see the outcome of their efforts, and sustainability lacks symbolic prestige. Meanwhile, the fashion industry—one of the largest polluters—continues to rely on virgin polyester and unsustainable supply chains.

Gaps in Current Solutions:
• Low Visibility of Impact: Recycling is backend and anonymous. People don’t see the transformation of waste into value.
• No Symbolic Incentive: Sustainability lacks aspirational appeal. Eco-conscious behavior isn’t rewarded or made culturally prestigious.
• Fragmented Circular Systems: Recycling infrastructure varies wildly across countries, with no unified benchmarking or global collaboration.
• Fashion Disconnect: The fashion industry rarely integrates post-consumer waste into mainstream, desirable products.

Proposed Solution:

EcoThread Global is a worldwide initiative that collects plastic waste and transforms it into wearable fashion—jackets, uniforms, bags, ceremonial attire, and even haute couture. PET waste is processed into polyester fibers, woven into fabric, and stitched into garments by regional design hubs. Each item carries a QR code tracing its origin, region, and environmental impact.

Who Benefits:
• Citizens: Gain access to sustainable fashion with traceable impact
• Youth & Designers: Engage in eco-innovation and storytelling
• Governments & NGOs: Meet climate goals, reduce landfill pressure, and showcase leadership
• Fashion Industry: Shift toward circular production and symbolic sustainability
• Environment: Reduced plastic pollution, lower carbon footprint, and global circular economy momentum

Why This Matters to Me:
As someone who benchmarks systems by both symbolic prestige and practical transformation, I believe EcoThread Global redefines sustainability. It’s not just about recycling—it’s about visibility, pride, and global identity. Imagine Olympic uniforms made from recycled waste of participating nations—a symbol of unity, responsibility, and innovation.

Technical Details:
• Collection: Partner with municipal bodies, global NGOs, and citizen volunteers
• Processing: Use mechanical/chemical recycling to convert PET into fibers
• Fabrication: Collaborate with textile hubs (India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kenya, Brazil)
• Tracking: QR codes show waste origin, region, and impact metrics
• Benchmarking Layer: Rank countries by volume recycled, garments produced, and symbolic milestones

Community-Solar Pavements

Cities also have a twofold challenge: accelerating energy needs and the imperative to move away from fossil fuels. As rooftop solar expands, it generally favors owners of property and excludes large parts of the community. In contrast, pavements, sidewalks, and public squares blanket huge unused surface areas that can be rethought as power generators.

My vision is Community-Powered Solar Pavements — pedestrian tiles with hardy solar cells and piezoelectric materials that harness both sunrays and foot energies. The energy produced could illuminate adjacent streetlights, power public EV charging stations, or flow into a local microgrid for nearby homes.

This idea is special because it takes ordinary walkways and turns them into community energy centers. While rooftop solar is restricted to people, solar pavements generate electricity for all. Cities might even plan systems where local residents can share the generated power or get credits on their power bills, making sustainability affordable and equitable.

Who benefits? Urban communities gain cheaper and cleaner energy, municipalities reduce dependence on centralized grids, and pedestrians enjoy safer, well-lit environments powered by their steps. Over time, entire neighborhoods could become partially self-sustaining in energy.

This problem matters to me because I’ve seen communities struggle with power shortages and rising utility costs, while acres of city pavement sit idle. Harnessing that space for renewable energy feels both practical and empowering.

Technically, the construction would employ anti-slip tempered glass tiles infused with solar layers, alongside piezoelectric sensors beneath to harvest vibrations from footsteps. Energy storage devices and IoT-integrated meters would control output and channel excess power where needed most.

By integrating renewable energy into the fabric of daily urban existence, this concept makes every step count towards constructing smarter, greener cities.

SmartCampus Hub: Tackling Waste and Hunger with One App

The Problem

Two everyday struggles every student knows too well:

Waste: At the end of each semester, piles of books, clothes, electronics, and even furniture end up discarded.

Late-Night Hunger: Canteens close early, but study sessions stretch past midnight. Students either go hungry or settle for unhealthy quick fixes.

Individually, these issues look small. But across campus, they lead to wasted resources, wasted money, and wasted energy.

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The Solution: SmartCampus Hub

A two-in-one platform designed to make campus life more sustainable, affordable, and student-friendly.

1️⃣ Circular Economy Zone

Students can swap, donate, or resell textbooks, clothes, electronics, and furniture.

Verified student profiles ensure safe, trust-based exchanges.

Promotes reuse, reduces waste, and saves money.

2️⃣ Dorm Snack Exchange

Students list extra snacks (noodles, chips, biscuits, drinks) on the app.

Peers in the same dorm can request/exchange them during late-night study hours.

Turns everyday dorm extras into a mini midnight economy.

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Real-Life Use Cases

A senior resells last semester’s textbooks at half-price → juniors save money.

A student donates extra clothes → another student benefits without spending.

Hungry at midnight? Trade a pack of chips for a cold drink from your neighbor.

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Why It Matters

For Students: Save money, get essentials easily, fuel study nights.

For Campus: Reduced waste, greener image.

For Community: Builds peer-to-peer trust and sharing culture.

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My Motivation

I’ve seen huge waste piles when students leave campus, and I’ve also sat hungry during long exam nights with no options. SmartCampus Hub solves both pain points in one system: reuse + food access.

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Tech Backbone

Mobile app linked to student logins.

Categories for books, clothes, electronics, snacks.

Quick “list & request” system for dorm snack swaps.

Option for ratings/reviews to ensure trust.

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Future Possibilities 🚀

Add event ticket exchange (for fests, shows).

Create a lost & found section.

Build a student services marketplace (tutoring, ridesharing).

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SmartCampus Hub = Less Waste, Less Hunger, More Campus Community.

FoodResQ – AI-Powered Leftover Redistribution Network

Solving a Real-World Problem

Food is one of the most basic human needs, yet we live in a world where some people throw it away while others go hungry. Every day, weddings, restaurants, corporate canteens, and hostels dump trays of untouched, fresh food straight into the bin. At the same time, just a few streets away, families struggle to secure even a single meal. This paradox of abundance and hunger existing together is one of the most frustrating realities of our society. It is not because food doesn’t exist — it is because we lack an efficient way to connect surplus food with people in need.

Gaps in Current Solutions

There are NGOs and good-hearted volunteers who try to collect and redistribute extra food. But their efforts face serious limitations:

• Unorganized process: Collections are often ad-hoc, relying on personal networks.

• Food safety issues: No quick system exists to verify freshness before redistribution.

• Delays: Manual coordination means food may spoil before it reaches people.

• Lack of transparency: Donors rarely know where their food ended up, reducing trust and motivation.

What we need is not more goodwill alone — but a system that brings structure, speed, and trust to food redistribution.

The FoodResQ Concept

This is where FoodResQ comes in — an AI-powered redistribution platform that transforms “waste” into “opportunity.”

Here’s how it works:

1. A hostel, restaurant, or household uploads details of surplus food on the FoodResQ app.

2. An AI matching engine pairs the food instantly with the nearest NGO, shelter home, or family in need.

3. Local gig workers or delivery partners are dispatched to collect and deliver the food quickly.

4. A small IoT freshness scanner verifies quality before dispatch, ensuring safety.

5. Blockchain-based tracking records the journey of each donation, so donors and NGOs can see exactly where meals went.

In this way, technology creates a real-time, transparent bridge between those who have food and those who need it most.

Who Benefits

The ripple effects are powerful:

• Hungry families gain safe, nutritious meals with dignity.

• Hotels, hostels, and restaurants reduce guilt, improve brand image, and even qualify for CSR credits.

• NGOs save enormous time and energy, allowing them to focus on service instead of logistics.

• Governments and society benefit from reduced landfill waste, improved public health, and cleaner cities.

Why It Matters to Me

I have personally witnessed the sad contrast of food being wasted at large events while children outside go hungry. That memory has stayed with me. Food is not just calories — it represents care, security, and dignity. Watching it being dumped while others starve feels like a failure of our collective responsibility. FoodResQ matters to me because it converts that helplessness into hope, by offering a practical, tech-driven way to share abundance.

Technical Feasibility

The idea is ambitious, but not unrealistic:

• IoT freshness scanners are already used in supply chains.

• AI engines can match supply and demand in seconds.

• Blockchain offers transparency and trust.

• Gig delivery models (like Swiggy or Dunzo) have proven logistics at scale.

The challenge is integration, not invention. With the right pilot in a single city, FoodResQ can quickly demonstrate impact.

Closing Thought

Food waste is more than an economic problem — it is an ethical one. Every untouched plate thrown away is a lost opportunity to feed someone in need. With FoodResQ, leftovers are no longer wasted; they become lifesavers. Even a small beginning can inspire a national movement, because one saved meal is not just food — it is hope, health, and humanity.

1. Introduction

Every day, millions of tons of microplastics enter rivers, lakes, and oceans. Household washing machines alone can release up to 700,000 tiny plastic fibers per wash, which pass through sewage systems and contaminate our food and water.

India, with its rapid urbanization and heavy reliance on synthetic fabrics, contributes massively to this invisible pollution. While we strive for clean clothes, we’re unintentionally harming our environment.

HydroNet asks: What if every wash, every drain, and every community could help stop microplastics at the source?

2. The Problem

• Invisible Pollution: Microplastics are too small for traditional wastewater treatment plants.

• Health Risks: Accumulate in seafood, salt, and even drinking water.

• Accessibility Gap: Only expensive premium machines have built-in filters; most households, hostels, and apartments are unprotected.

• Collective Neglect: Shared facilities amplify pollution, yet no coordinated solution exists.

• Disposal Dilemma: Trapped microplastics must be properly collected; otherwise, pollution persists.

3. The Solution: HydroNet

HydroNet is a modular, clip-on microplastic filtration system for household and community water outlets. Its design allows it to scale far beyond washing machines.

Key Features:

• Biodegradable Cartridge: Made from PLA or cellulose-based mesh, compostable under industrial conditions.

• Responsible Disposal Loop: Users send back trapped microplastics for safe sequestration (e.g., incorporated into construction materials), while the cartridge shell is composted or recycled.

• Durable Housing: Long-lasting casing made from recycled plastic or steel.

• Universal Fit: Works with washing machine drains, sinks, showers, and laundry outlets.

• Community & Industrial Scalability: Can be installed in hostels, apartment buildings, laundromats, and textile factories.

• Future Smart Add-On: IoT-enabled tracking to measure the amount of microplastics captured, enabling environmental credit reporting.

HydroNet is like a water purifier for plastic fibers — protecting homes, communities, and ecosystems.

4. Business Model

• Retail (B2C): HydroNet kits + biodegradable cartridge refills sold via e-commerce, appliance stores, and campus shops.

• Subscription Model: Cartridge replacements every 3–4 months with optional mail-back collection.

• Hostel & Apartment Partnerships: Bulk installation for shared laundry and drainage systems.

• Industrial Partnerships: Textile factories and laundromats adopt larger-scale HydroNet units to comply with environmental standards.

• CSR & Government Programs: Integration into clean-water and Swachh Bharat initiatives.

Price: ₹700–₹1,200 per household unit; ₹100–₹200 per cartridge.

5. Who Benefits?

• Families & Students: Eco-friendly laundry and cleaner household water.

• Hostels & Apartments: Collective reduction of microfiber pollution.

• Communities: Cleaner local rivers and safer food chains.

• Industries & Governments: Compliance with environmental regulations; contributes to water conservation goals.

• Planet: Scalable microplastic mitigation from homes to communities.

6. Market Impact

• India’s washing machine and home appliance market is projected at ₹35,000+ crore by 2030.

• Even 5% adoption in households and community facilities can prevent tons of plastic fibers annually.

• Industrial adoption opens a multi-crore B2B opportunity, with recurring revenue from cartridge subscriptions and service contracts.

• HydroNet positions itself as the default sustainability accessory for water outlets, much like RO filters became standard for safe drinking water.

7. Why This Matters

Microplastic pollution is a silent but urgent crisis. Every household, hostel, and factory contributes to it, often unknowingly. HydroNet empowers individuals and communities to take responsibility, making sustainability a tangible and actionable goal.

This matters to me because small, everyday actions — like doing laundry — should not harm the planet. HydroNet is more than a filter: it’s a circular, scalable solution that transforms homes, communities, and industries into active guardians of water, one wash and one drain at a time.

The Problem

Every day, students struggle with the rising cost of transportation. Many of us either depend on expensive cabs and autos or spend extra money on fuel when driving alone. At the same time, vehicles leave campus half-empty, while classmates travel the same routes separately. This not only increases personal expenses but also adds to traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Clearly, we need a smarter, more sustainable way to commute.

The Solution

Campus Carpool is a mobile app designed exclusively for Mahindra University students. By connecting students who travel in the same direction at similar times, it makes daily commuting affordable, safe, and eco-friendly. With verified student profiles, smart ride-matching, and automatic cost-sharing, the app offers a trusted and sustainable alternative to expensive solo travel.

How It Works

Students register on the app using their official university ID to ensure safety and authenticity. Once verified, they simply enter their starting point, destination, and travel time. The app instantly suggests matches with students heading in the same direction. Costs are split fairly through built-in digital payments, and emergency contacts can be shared for added peace of mind. After the ride, users can provide feedback and ratings, building a community of trust.

Key Features

• Route Matching: Smart suggestions for students traveling the same way.

• Cost Sharing: Automatic digital fare split for fairness and convenience.

• Safety First: Only University IDs are accepted, with emergency sharing options.

• Eco-Friendly Impact: Reduces unnecessary single-passenger trips, cutting traffic and emissions.

• Community Building: Encourages stronger connections among students.

The Model

The app is free to join for every student. A small service fee (₹5–₹10 per ride) ensures smooth platform maintenance. Premium options, such as guaranteed matches or priority ride bookings, can be offered for students who need extra convenience. In the long run, partnerships with the university can further strengthen the model while supporting the campus’s sustainability goals.

Final Pitch

Campus Carpool is not just an app—it’s a lifestyle shift. It’s about making student life simpler, cheaper, safer, and more sustainable. By transforming wasted empty seats into opportunities for savings and connection, we give students the power to drive change, one shared ride at a time.

Fast fashion waste has become one of the growing issues in the world. It is the mass production of cheap clothing designed to meet the latest fashion trends. People (mostly Gen Z) who buy these garments discard them after using them a few times. This is happening worldwide, and millions of garments are discarded every year, unsold stock is often destroyed, and used clothes end up in landfills. This not only affects the environment but also contributes to water waste. Producing one cotton shirt can use 2,700 liters of water. Fast fashion increases water stress in many regions. Also, fast fashion contributes to the 92 million tonnes of textile waste every year.

To solve this problem, ReStitch collects unsold stock from malls and discarded clothes from people through a system called "Stitch Bins." Malls can place bins ("Stitch Bins") for people to discard their unwanted garments. These collected garments can be used to make cushion covers, tote bags, scrunchies, rugs, wall hangings, and wallets. They can also be used to make restyled clothes that still fit in fashion trends and many more creative products.

Gaps in the Current Market—

Thrift stores and resale platforms do exist, but they are not everywhere, and they do not focus much on recycling and transformations. Most solutions don't go the creative way. 

ReStitch provides a creative, productive, and sustainable option.

Who Benefits?

ReStitch might not revolutionize the fashion industry, and it might not be able to stop fashion waste from accumulating in one night, but it can help reduce the amount of waste produced and can help spread awareness. 

• Partnerships with clothing brands: Brands can help promote ReStitch and place Stitch Bins in their store. This helps in PR for the brand. The partnership enhances the store's brand image, as they are supporting sustainability.
• Customers: Customers, especially the Gen Z customer base, get to stay on trend without compromising on sustainability. They also get to buy interesting and cute accessories and decor at affordable prices. 
• Community: This not only spreads awareness but also reduces landfill load and pollution to some extent.
• ReStitch: The brand gets access to raw materials at a lower cost to create accessories, home decor, and fashion. The revenue is generated through D2C sales, B2B partnerships, and selling non-reusable fabrics to industries as raw material. Workshops to spread awareness can also become a revenue stream if executed the right way. 

Why Does This Problem Matter to Me?

I myself fell into the loop of buying and discarding clothes just to keep up with the ever-changing fashion trends. My closet was always filled with clothes that I no longer preferred to wear. I wanted to stop purchasing new clothes frequently, but I also wanted to stay in style. I realized that this problem is not only confined to my closet but is also contributing to serious environmental pollution. 

Technical Details-

• Bins: The bins can be interactive by displaying a message or a "cute" face whenever someone drops clothes in them. Ex: "You helped recycle 2 kg of clothes" or "Thank you, Binfluencer."
• Photo Booth (YAYYY!): People can get free photo booth selfies in exchange for the clothes they dump in the bin. The number of selfies they can take depends on the weight of the clothes they dump. People can take selfies with the bins and post them. This promotes sustainability.
• Segregation: The clothes that can be worn again go to designers for upcycling; those that cannot be worn are transformed into creative accessories and home decor products. Non-reusable fabrics can be shredded and sold to industries that need them as a raw material.
• Manufacturing: Patchwork and stitching are used to transform and give a new look to the fabrics. The manufacturing unit consists of designers and manufacturers who go hand in hand and discuss every product detail.
• Tracking: Since there is a continuous flow of fabrics from the malls to the customers, a portal can help keep the metrics, revenue, and inventory in check.
• Marketing: Social media, Meta ads, and emotional storytelling focusing on the environmental issue can help boost sales and raw material supply. RESTITCH CAN ITSELF BECOME A TREND ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
• Sales Channels: Brand Website, Amazon, and other e-commerce platforms for D2C sales. Pop-ups in malls and events, sustainability stores can partner with ReStitch for a commission on every sale.
• Revenue Model: The brand pays a fee every month to malls for space for bins and photo booths. Profit comes from selling high-value, limited-edition fashion and home products made from discarded clothes.

Every shirt, T-shirt, or pair of jeans we throw away not just carries fabric but also carries water, energy, and human efforts. We are discarding the planet's resources. Approximately 93 billion cubic meters of water is wasted every year because of fast fashion. It is we humans who decide whether the future will be sustainable or unsustainable.

Together, we can stitch a future where style doesn’t cost the Earth.

In the modern era, urbanization and population growth are exerting tremendous pressure on food supply chains. The majority of vegetables we eat travel hundreds of kilometers to reach our plates, losing freshness as well as nutrients on their way. conventional farming demands huge tracts of land, soil, and water resources that are becoming scarce, especially in cities.

My proposal is to bring in aeroponics towers, a vertical agricultural solution that enables vegetables and leafy greens to be produced without using soil, by means of a thin mist of nutrient rich water directly on plant roots. This system not only conserves as much as 95% of water over conventional farming but also makes crops grow faster and yields greater. Because the system is vertical, it saves a lot of space and is hence suitable for urban living conditions like apartments, schools, and community centers.

This solution connects consumers with fresh, healthy food by making hyper-local farming possible. Rather than depending on remote farms and supply chains, families, restaurants, and institutions can produce their own vegetables right where they reside or work. This provides pesticide-free, nutrient-dense, and freshly picked food throughout the year

Beneficiaries are city households seeking healthier nutrition, restaurants needing fresh daily produce, and neighborhoods wanting to cut back on their carbon footprint. I personally am interested in this concept because I witness food insecurity increasing within cities, and I think sustainable, space-saving forms of farming like aeroponics can impact our diets and lives positively.

1. Fix a real-world issue

One of the largest unsolved issues today is food waste. The UN estimates that more than 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year. Much of it occurs in the home — milk, bread, vegetables, or leftovers tend to be forgotten at the back of the fridge until too late.

• This wastes money for households.
• It helps combat global hunger problems (while some do not get enough to eat, others waste).
• Food left to rot in landfills also emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Therefore, an easy household solution can have a colossal effect on the world.

2. Identify gaps in existing solutions/market

• Supermarket apps (e.g., Blinkit, BigBasket, Instacart) only assist individuals in purchasing food, not in handling it once purchased.
• Expiry tracking apps do indeed exist, but they are too labor-intensive — barcode reading or typing in information for each product. Most users fail after a couple of days.
• Expiry tracking smart fridges do exist, but they cost too much for ordinary families and are primarily sold in Western nations.
• There is no low-cost, low-effort option that keeps expiry tracking simple for normal households.

Our proposal seeks to bridge this by being:
✅ Simple → just snap a photo of your groceries.
✅ Low-cost → uses any smartphone.
✅ Useful → sends reminders on time before expiration.

3. Who gains

Families/Households 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦:

• Save money by avoiding more food waste.
• Plan meals more effectively with reminders on time.
• Feel better about lessening their ecological footprint.

Retailers/Brands 🛒:

• Increase customer satisfaction by minimizing complaints about expired products.
• Enhance brand reputation as socially conscious.
• Community & Environment 🌱:
• Reduced food waste → less landfill use and less greenhouse gases.
• More effective use of food → helps to ensure food security.

4. Why this issue is important to me

• This issue seems very personal in my everyday life. I've lost count of how many times I've had to discard milk, bread, or vegetables because I'd forgotten they were about to expire. It seems like:
• Wasting money 💸 — especially with increasing costs of food.
• Adding to the guilt 😔 — when so many are food insecure.
• Damaging the environment 🌏 — knowing that food waste leads to climate change.

That's why I'm passionate about creating a solution that is practical, accessible, and effective for average homes, not only tech-friendly or affluent individuals.

5. Technical details 

🤖 AI-powered image recognition: Take a quick photo of your groceries. The app auto-detects items and assigns an estimated shelf life.

🔔 Smart reminders: Push notifications warn users a day or two before expiry — “Your spinach 🥬 will spoil tomorrow, make a salad today!”

🔗 Integration with grocery apps: If you order online, expiry data can auto-fill from receipts.

🎮 Gamification & Rewards: Earn points for saving food, share with friends, or even convert points into donations toward food charities.

📊 Analytics dashboard: Track how much food (and money) you saved each month.

It has always been my dream to start a company that provides safe, healthy, and affordable food to people while also supporting farmers. Today, most vegetables and fruits available in the market are grown using heavy pesticides and chemical fertilizers. While these practices help increase production, they also harm consumers’ health and reduce the natural nutritional value of food. Families are becoming increasingly concerned about what they eat, yet they often do not have reliable or affordable access to truly organic produce.

My idea is to establish a company similar to “Heritage,” but with a strong focus on organic farming and sustainable supply chains. I already have agricultural land, and my plan is to begin cultivating vegetables using organic methods. Over time, the company can expand by partnering with other farmers who are willing to reduce or eliminate pesticide use. By building this network, we can create a trusted source of organic vegetables, fruits, and daily essentials.

The gap in the current market is that organic produce is either too expensive or difficult to find, especially for middle-class families. My company aims to close this gap by working directly with farmers, eliminating unnecessary middlemen, and using technology to streamline logistics and distribution. This approach will help reduce costs and make organic food accessible to more households.

The beneficiaries are consumers, who will gain access to healthier food, and farmers, who will receive fair prices and encouragement to adopt sustainable practices. This idea matters to me deeply because I want to contribute to healthier lifestyles, promote sustainable agriculture, and fulfill my dream of serving fresh organic vegetables to people around the world.

Clean and good energy access is increasingly being a challenge, especially for rural areas and outdoors. My product is a portable, collapsible solar-powered charger that can charge multiple devices (laptops, power banks, phones) at once.

It will be water-resistant, portable, and in the shape of a portable foldable mat that will fit inside a backpack. Unlike heavy solar panels, this device is portable, affordable, and for personal use. It will also have an inbuilt battery for power storage to charge at night.

Gap in current solutions: Current solar chargers are too little (slightly powering one device) or too large and expensive for personal use.

Who is helped?

Rural students: Supply power appliances where there is no electricity.

Campers and travelers: Convenient power source outdoors.

People in communities: Promotes the use of clean energy.

This worries me since power outages are common in most areas, affecting commerce, education, and communication. A simple, sustainable solution will reduce dependence on non-renewable power and give individuals access to power that is reliable.

 Real-World Problem

Modern smartphones and wearables have become our wallets, keys, and constant companions, but their batteries rarely last a full day of heavy use. Students juggling online classes and travel, professionals on long commutes, and travellers navigating airports all face the same obstacle: at some point, the battery warning appears and work or communication stops. Carrying power banks adds weight and eventually contributes to electronic waste. Conventional “wireless” pads still require a user to stop, place the phone carefully, and remain stationary. We need a way for devices to stay charged while we live life on the move.

 Gaps in Current Solutions

Fast chargers cut charge time but still tether users to a wall socket. Portable power banks solve mobility but not weight or sustainability. Inductive pads only work over a few centimetres and lose connection if the phone is lifted. Public USB ports raise data-security concerns. No mainstream system offers safe, efficient charging across several metres while the phone is in normal use or even in a pocket.

 The Proposed Solution

Create long-range wireless charging zones, similar to how Wi-Fi delivers data.

• Infrastructure: Ceiling or table-mounted transmitter panels emit a focused electromagnetic field or low-power RF beam.

• Smart Control: Sensors detect compatible devices, track distance and orientation, and energise only the area directly around the phone, adjusting power to maintain efficiency and safety.

• Device Hardware: Phones include a thin resonant coil or RF harvesting chip—technology that fits within today’s standard smartphone casing.

When a user enters a café, airport lounge, lecture hall, or bus equipped with these transmitters, their devices start topping up automatically—no cables, no specific placement.

 Who Benefits

• Users: True “always-charged” convenience, lighter devices, and freedom from carrying chargers.

• Businesses: Cafés, co-working spaces, airports, shopping malls, and public transport systems can attract and retain customers with a premium “power everywhere” service.

• Manufacturers: Phone makers can reduce battery size and cost, cut material use, and differentiate new models with built-in receivers.

• Environment: Fewer disposable power banks and smaller batteries reduce e-waste and mining of rare materials.

 Personal Motivation

As a student and frequent traveller, I often rely on my phone for maps, tickets, research, and payments. Running out of battery mid-journey is frustrating and sometimes risky. A world where phones charge automatically—just like connecting to Wi-Fi—would remove this daily stress and support more sustainable technology.

Technical Snapshot

The system uses resonant inductive coupling or beam-forming RF with directional antennas, operating in safe ISM frequency bands. Energy transfer at 1–3 metres has been demonstrated in research labs; our innovation is packaging it into scalable ceiling panels and IoT-based control for energy metering and user authentication.

One of the pressing problems today is water wastage. Millions of litres of pure water are lost each day through thoughtless use—people fill bottles too full, neglect to hydrate properly (causing health problems), or simply throw away half-full bottles. That got me thinking: what if there was an easy device that not only conserves water, but also encourages healthy drinking habits? That's how the thought of AquaSaver crossed my mind.

AquaSaver appears like a normal fashionable water bottle but is constructed with intelligent sensors. It monitors your water consumption throughout the day, reminds you to hydrate, and notifies you when you're near overfilling the bottle. The bottle contains a purification filter within so remaining water can be reused without danger rather than be wasted. It also displays your hydration level, today's water consumption, and even presents community challenges (such as "Save 5 liters this week") to create awareness about water conservation.

Technically, AquaSaver can incorporate a capacitive water level sensor, a removable filter cartridge, and a Bluetooth chip with a connected smartphone. A rechargeable battery drives the system for weeks. The bottle itself is of eco-friendly material to prevent contributing to the plastic waste issue.

The advantages are twofold:

• For people – remaining healthier by drinking sufficient water every day.

• To society – minimizing wastage of water, a bottle at a time. Families, schools, and workplaces could implement AquaSaver in order to instill a culture of sustainability.

The stakeholders are:

• Users, who become healthier and save water costs.

• Families, who are taught environmentally friendly habits.

• Environmental organizations, which endorse conservation.

• Governments and policymakers, as it supports water-saving goals.

• Startups, which can develop and grow this innovation.

Water is not a resource—it's life. By bringing something such as AquaSaver into existence, we are able to make a simple everyday task—drinking water—into a movement toward sustainability. There will undoubtedly be obstacles—cost, upkeep, embracing—but if even a fraction of individuals utilize it, the effect on water conservation will be enormous.

The Real-World Problem

Remember the start of every semester? There's the excitement for new classes, followed quickly by the financial sting of the textbook list. We rush to the bookstore, pay high prices for brand-new books that we might only use for a few months, and then watch them gather dust on our shelves. On the other side, our seniors have rooms filled with these exact same books, along with used lab coats, drafters, and calculators, with no efficient way to pass them on. It's a cycle of waste,a waste of money for us and a waste of resources for the planet. 

The Gap in Current Solutions
We've all tried to solve this. We scroll through chaotic WhatsApp groups where messages get lost in seconds. We look at college notice boards with outdated flyers. We might even try generic platforms like OLX, but they aren't built for students,it's hard to find the exact book for our specific course code, and coordinating with strangers off-campus can be a hassle. These methods are unreliable, disorganized, and simply not built for the unique needs of a university community.
Our Solution: Introducing BookVerse
BookVerse is a smart, hyper-local mobile app designed exclusively for our university students. It's more than just a marketplace; it's an intelligent platform that directly connects a junior's needs with a senior's resources.

How the idea works:
* Smart Matching: When you sign up, you list your courses (e.g., CS101, ME204). If you're a junior taking CS101, the app automatically shows you all the seniors who have listed the CS101 textbook for sale. No more endless searching!
* Verified Profiles: To ensure trust and safety, profiles are verified using university email IDs. You know you're dealing with a fellow student.
* Beyond Books: The marketplace isn't just for books. It’s a one-stop shop for all used academic supplies: scientific calculators, lab coats, drafters, and even well-maintained class notes.
* Seamless Connection: An integrated chat allows buyers and sellers to connect, agree on a price, and arrange for a simple and safe exchange right here on campus. 

Who Benefits? A Win-Win-Win Situation
* Junior Students: Save a significant amount of money (up to 50-70%) on essential academic supplies, easing financial pressure.
* Senior Students: Easily earn back some of the money they invested and declutter their space in an eco-friendly way.
* Our Campus & Environment: By promoting a circular economy, we collectively reduce paper waste, lower our carbon footprint, and build a more sustainable and collaborative campus culture.

Why This Problem Matters to Me
As a first-year student, I personally felt the stress of managing a tight budget while trying to get all the required books. I spent a fortune, only to later see the same books sitting on a senior's shelf. It seemed like such a simple problem with no simple solution. This idea was born from my own frustration and the belief that we, as a student community, can create a smarter, more affordable, and sustainable way to help each other succeed.

One of the biggest problems in today's world is the over-packaging in plastics, specifically in food packaging. From takeaway boxes to grocery wrap, packaging finds its way mostly to landfills or oceans and takes centuries to decompose. This is not just harmful to the marine life and nature but has direct consequences on our health by putting microplastics into our food supply. While alternatives like paper or reusable boxes are available, these are largely too costly, breakable, or non-existent. This is where the idea of Eco-Friendly Food Packaging comes into the picture.

The idea is to create biodegradable durable and low-cost packaging from agricultural byproducts like rice husk, or corn starch. The packaging wouldn't contain harmful residues like plastic when it will break down naturally in a few months. The packaging will be in the form of cups, plates, or boxes and wrappers and is applicable to restaurants and cafeterias as well as households.

This idea benefits multiple groups. Consumers get safer packaging without harmful chemicals. Restaurants and food vendors can market themselves as eco-friendly, attracting more customers. Communities and governments benefit from reduced waste and pollution. Even farmers benefit, since agricultural byproducts that are usually discarded can be sold to manufacturers, giving them extra income.

This issue is important to me because I observe plastic trash everywhere – on the streets, in rivers, and even on my campus. For a sustainable tomorrow, packaging is one of the simplest but highly effective areas to innovate. With the advancements in material science and manufacturing technology, manufacturing such environmentally friendly packaging at large is no longer a fantasy but a reality.

By advocating for biodegradable products, we're not only fixing a problem of trash—we're creating a cleaner world. A cleaner world. A world of greater responsibility.

Have you ever wondered how much food gets wasted , not only from plates but directly from the kitchen (untouched food) ??? 

In most institutions/ offices/schools, food is cooked based on the number of students on campus /employees/workers ,not how many actually want the meal . And also , if based on number, then not on the no of items they want to eat. Hence, there’s a mismatch between what’s cooked and what’s consumed. 

The problem 

Food wastage is one of the world’s most pressing issues, with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimating that nearly 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally each year, accounting for roughly one-third of total production. In India alone, around 40% of food produced is wasted annually, despite millions going hungry daily. While food waste is often associated with leftovers on plates, a significant portion also comes from overproduction in canteens, corporate offices, institutions, and schools where meals are cooked in bulk. The variation between what is prepared and what is actually consumed leads to bowls of untouched food being discarded. That’s lakhs of rupees down the drain and meals that could’ve fed thousands of people.(FSSAI) 15-20% of cooked food is wasted from private institutions due to over preparation.

Global food waste costs the world economy $1 trillion each year (FAO).

It's not just food we waste , it's litres of water, resources, hours of labour etc..

The solution

What if we could fix that- with one small habit change?

My idea is to create an app that allows individuals to pre-select their meals a day in advance. Employees, students, or residents would be shown the menu for the next day and can opt into specific dishes along with approximate portion sizes. This data would be collected and analyzed by the kitchen staff to prepare accurate quantities of each item, minimizing unnecessary cooking.

And yes! LESS OVERPRODUCTION! LESS WASTE! MORE EFFICIENCY !!

The technical backbone of the app would include real-time dashboards for kitchen managers, predictive analytics to track food preferences over time, and AI-based demand forecasting to improve accuracy further.

This innovation directly supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), as reduced wastage lowers greenhouse gas emissions from discarded food.

Currently, there is a gap in the market—many institutions lack a systematic mechanism to match demand with supply. Some donate leftovers to orphanages or distribute food among workers, but large amounts are still wasted.

The benificials 

By adopting this app, institutions save costs on raw materials and cooking resources, while individuals benefit from having food they genuinely want to eat. Any small leftover quantities can be channeled more efficiently to workers or delivered to nearby NGOs.

This isn’t just about food, its about thoughtful consumption, better planning and helping people we may never meet.

If every student simply made a meal choice in advance, we could save food, money and lives- all with a single tap.

This problem resonates deeply with me because I have often witnessed heaps of untouched food thrown away while many people outside go hungry. Food is the most basic necessity—we work for it, and life revolves around it. With this app, I aim not only to reduce waste but also to ensure that resources are valued, hunger is alleviated, and sustainability is prioritized.

Have you ever bought a tub of Greek yoghurt and then forgotten about it? A week later, you find it in your fridge, already expired. Not only is this wasting your money, but it is also wasting food. If something like that ever happened to you, then this app is perfect for you. 

My idea:

My idea is to develop an app that tracks the expiration dates of groceries purchased by consumers. All the consumer has to do is scan the barcode of the groceries, and the app then adds it to its list. It sends reminders about any food expiring soon and also suggests dishes based on the ingredients available in the list. 

Gaps in the current market:

The current market doesn't really combine the barcode scanning of groceries with giving recipe recommendations. Also, this app will focus more on the products and companies found in the Indian market. 

Who benefits:

People who are forgetful about their groceries (like me) are gonna benefit a lot from this app. Apart from that, the general public can also use this app, which decreases food waste as people won't wait till their groceries expire. Reducing food waste is going to help everyone achieve a more sustainable world. 

Why this problem matters to me:

This problem matters to me because I see tons of food wastage around me daily, whether it be in the campus mess or in the general public. I believe minimum food wastage is going to benefit the people. This app is also going to minimise the financial waste from households, which will help them have a better budget. 

Technical details:

• Built with React Native (iOS + Android).
• Barcode scanning via ML Kit with a manual entry option for items without a barcode.
• Colour-coded expiry indicators and notifications.
• Recipe recommendations based on which product expires first. 
• For produce, it uses estimates of when it expires (eg: an apple 5-7 days).