A bespectacled boy dressed in a spiffy blue suit created a buzz at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit on Thursday after he signed a Rs 5 crore-worth memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government, bagging the deal for production of a drone designed by him.
Harshwardhan Zala, 14, signed a deal with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, to facilitate production of the drones that help detect and defuse land mines on war fields.
Incidentally, the class 10 student had been working on his business plan and made three prototypes of the drone while most children of his age are fretting over the upcoming board exams.
Zala said he started work on the prototype of the landmine-detecting drone in 2016 and created a business plan too.
“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,” said the 14-year-old, who spent not less than Rs 5 lakh on the three prototypes of the drone. While the teen’s parents shelled out approximately Rs 2 lakh for the first two prototypes, he was granted Rs 3 lakh from the state for the third prototype.
Source: Times of India