The IET is deeply committed to the development of the engineering community and is bringing together engineering talent globally to share knowledge, develop engineers, help industry and academia and to ultimately solve problems in society. One such initiative is the IET India Scholarship Award for engineering students. The Scholarship Award has been designed to reward and celebrate creativity, innovation, excellence and leadership among undergraduate engineering students. The Award was first announced in 2013 and received an excellent response with over 5,000 entries from students across India. The winners are evaluated across various parameters including academic performance, extracurricular activities, range of outreach activities and their ability to come up with engineering solutions to solve problems impacting society. The 2014 Award Ceremony took place on August 26, 2014 in Bangalore. Manoj Sarda from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee and Hina Agrawal from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad were the winners of the award this year.
Manoj Sharda, Winner of the IET Scholarship Award 2014 in General Category
Tell us what were your projects?
My project was on based on ‘Problems and technical solutions associated with drip water irrigation.’ The problems with trending drip water system I identified was that of finance (marginal farmers with avg. landholding of 1-2.5 acres cannot afford this system) and that of electricity interruption. I proposed an indigenous solution of using Matkas (earthen pot) installed with filtration system (simple slow sand filter) at its base to make it work as drip water system. It is to be buried in ground in vicinity of plantation at calculated distance so as to achieve desired rate of drip.
How did you arrive at the possible solution?
During my visit to “Deendayal Research Institute (DRI), Chitrakoot” I had an opportunity to visit “Krishi Vigyan kendre, (KVK), Satna district”. The agriculture scientist there promoted use of indigenous technologies and had been experimenting on use of Matka (called as ollas) in agriculture with local farmers. However the issue of controlling rate of drip was persistent. My thoughts in the solution I proposed were inspired by those visionary scientists and the entrepreneurial farmers of Chitrakoot and the leadership of DRI.
What kind of preparation went in to finish the work? Did you have to read up a lot of conduct experiments or talk to people?
The basic problem had been identified at DRI itself. For arriving at the present solution I discussed the problem with civil engineering seniors. The concept of using filters similar to slow sand filters was identified. Then started the experimentation which I performed with help of some of my batch mates with whom I had visited DRI, Chitrakoot. Rigorous experiments to consolidate observations and validate results were done to arrive at a concrete solution.
Did you have to run it by authorities?
The Matka system (installed with filter at the bottom) was developed during stay at IIT Roorkee. Currently we are in discussion with a professor of civil department to modify/validate the design. The same will be sent to KVK, Satna dist. for on sight, practical testing.
What is the long term future for the proposed project?
Once established the solution with all the research work, data and results will be given to KVKs so that they can further take it to farmers of arid and semi-arid regions, for whom this is originally meant.
How has winning this award benefitted you?
On a personal ground this award has been a self –exploratory and motivating experience. It enabled me to believe in myself and work harder to seek various opportunities. Award to the idea presented has also boosted me to work in core engineering with an outlook for problems of our society.
What do you plan to do now on?
I plan to complete my bachelors’ degree and then go for masters in my areas of interest. All the way keeping in mind the application of the things I have learned for our society and our nation. Long term the vision I have is to work for our nation with my engineering and production knowledge to take it again to a state of “vaibhav”.
Hina Agarwal – Winner of the IET Scholarship Award 2014 in Women Category
Please tell us what were your projects?
My project was focused on “Drip Irrigation”-- a water-cum-energy saving technique, in which water is applied directly to the root zone through a series of pipes and emitters. Despite having series of advantages of increased yield and decreased labour costs, less than 1.114% of area is under drip irrigation as per the estimates by Forbes India Magazine.
One factor that can be responsible for its limited use is high initial cost in its installation but the fact that the Indian Government is also encouraging its implementation through schemes like NMMI (National Mission on Micro-Irrigation) giving subsidy upto 50% means somewhere its technical backlogs is creating hindrances.
Why did you choose this topic?
I found that the main concerns are - the blockage of emitters by root intrusion and popping up of water onto the root surface. So I modified the conventional drip irrigation system by using technical textiles -textiles used for non–aesthetic purposes. I used geotextiles, which when used in contact with the soil have the ability to separate and filter, as the upper layer on driptubes and also used impermeable strips on top and bottom. This modified system can solve not only the above problems but can also increase water efficiency to 90-95%. Treated effluents can also be used in these systems.
What kind of preparation went in to finish the work? Did you have to read up a lot of conduct experiments or talk to people?
I got to know about technical textiles from my college professor. Besides this I watched videos of its installation went through research papers and also read its success stories.
What’s the long term future for the proposed project?
This project has a quite broad scope for future. When geotextile will be manufactured by more domestic industries, its cost will come down. Also, many more materials can be tested for this new design of the system. This way, the mission of idealising the drip irrigation technique as SMART Irrigation-Sustainably Managed Accountable and Responsible and trusted irrigation can be achieved.
How has winning this award benefitted you?
Sincerely thanking the IET India, this scholarship initiative has truly benefited me not only financially but has really boosted my moral confidence. This achievement still feels like a dream come true. The win in a national competition of IET’s stature has motivated me to further work for the betterment of India. I am also looking forward to participate in other events of the IET.
