PM Modi meets man whose prize-winning innovation can cut Delhi's air pollution

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week met Delhi-based Vidyut Mohan whose prize-winning innovation is expected to drastically cut the national capital's air pollution, which deteriorates in winter season due to a number of factors including stubble burning.  

During his visit to Scotland's Glasgow, the Prime Minister met Mohan, who has co-founded a recycling firm Takachar. In September this year, Takachar was picked for Prince William's GBP 1 million Earthshot Prize. 

The firm was named winner for its cheap, small-scale, portable technology that converts crop residues into sellable bio-products. This is significant as one of the major reasons behind Delhi's air pollution is stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana.

Mohan said the Prime Minster was curious about his winning agricultural waste recycling project. “It was such an honour meeting the Prime Minister, who was very curious about my winning agricultural waste recycling project and had some very encouraging words about scaling this up to help farmers all over India,” said Mohan.

Takachar was picked for its efforts to combat the serious health impact on people in Delhi and its surrounding areas from the burning of agricultural waste, a leading cause of air pollution and reduced life expectancy.

The prize analysts note: “Takachar has developed a cheap, small-scale, portable technology that attaches to tractors in remote farms. The machine converts crop residues into sellable bio-products like fuel and fertilizer."

“Takachar’s technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98 per cent which will help improve the air quality that currently reduces the affected population’s life expectancy by up to five years. If scaled, it could cut a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year: a win for India’s farmers will be a win in the fight against climate change,” they further said. 

Today, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that Mohan's prize-winning innovation turns agricultural waste into fuel - solving not only for a reduction in stubble burning but also creating an additional financial pathway. "It's got immense potential for radical multi-faceted transformation," he tweeted.

In last one week, Delhi's air quality dropped to ‘severe’ category. 

The Ministry of Earth Science's air quality forecasting agency (SAFAR) today said that the city's air quality is still in 'severe' category “because of the large influx of stubble related pollutants which appears to be due to much higher effective fire count observed than that assumed” in its earlier model for forecasting.