14yr old, Harshwardhan Zala signs Rs 5cr MoU with the Gujarat govt

Remember Medansh Mehta, a game developer from Mumbai who aspires to become Microsoft CEO? Or Tenith Adithyaa, an 11th-grade student who has invented Adjustable Electricity Extension Board and a Banana Leaf Preservation Technology along with 17 other inventions?

Adding to this long list of child prodigies of India, Harshwardhan Zala, 14 has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 5 crore with the Gujarat government, to facilitate production of the drones that can help detect and defuse land mines on war fields.

At the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, the boy signed a deal with the Department of Science and Technology of Gujarat. Currently, in standard 10, Zala has been working on his project since last year and spent more than Rs 5 lakh to make three prototypes of the drone. Notably, the government also supported his project with Rs 3 lakh.

As per EconomicTimes report, the boy has already registered for patenting his design and named his company ‘Aerobotics’. He aims to make his company bigger than Apple or Google.

Zala said, "The inspiration struck when I was watching television and learned that a large number of soldiers succumb to injuries sustained due to landmine blasts while defusing them manually."

The drone designed by this young boy sends out waves to detect land mines. Once detected, the emitted waves will communicate their location to the authorities.

He further said, "The drone has been equipped with infrared, RGB sensor and thermal meter along with a 21-megapixel camera with a mechanical shutter that can take high-resolution pictures as well. The drone also carries a bomb weighing 50 gramme that can be used to destroy the landmine."

Zala’s father Pradhyumansinh Zala is an accountant in a plastic company in Naroda, while his mother Nishaba Zala is a homemaker.