IIT Kanpur-incubated startup inks pact for India’s first 100 pc electric compact tractor

IANS Photo

New Delhi, (IANS): An SIIC IIT Kanpur-incubated startup, ScaNxt Scientific Technologies, entered into an agreement with two institutions under the Ministry of Science and Technology for the technology transfer of India’s first indigenously developed 100 per cent electric compact tractor, a statement has said.

The electric compact tractor, developed with over 90 per cent indigenous components, has been specifically designed for India’s small and marginal farmers.

Conventional diesel-based mechanisation models have historically remained economically inaccessible for small land holders, creating a structural productivity gap across rural India.

India’s agricultural economy remains heavily dependent on smallholder farmers, with over 86 per cent of farming households operating on less than 2 hectares of land.

The tractor integrates a fully electric drivetrain, Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality capable of powering irrigation pumps and farm equipment, compact operational architecture suited for smaller farms, and simplified controls designed to improve accessibility for women farmers.

“Our Smart Compact EV Tractor will dramatically cut cultivation costs, generate green jobs in rural India, and usher in a new era of precision and prosperous farming,” the ScaNxt team said in the statement.

The development also signalled the emergence of a new category within India’s farm mechanisation landscape.

With electric agricultural equipment still at an early stage nationally, the initiative opens opportunities for manufacturing, distribution, servicing, and ecosystem development around sustainable rural mobility solutions.

SIIC IIT Kanpur signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CSIR-CMERI and the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) during the Vigyan Tech 2026 exhibition in New Delhi.

Under the agreement, ScaNxt Scientific Technologies will commercialise the technology under its own brand identity, with a focus on creating an affordable, energy-efficient, and scalable mechanisation solution for India’s rural economy."The agreement reflects the growing maturity of India’s translational innovation ecosystem — where publicly funded research, startup entrepreneurship, and institutional incubation are converging to solve large-scale national challenges through indigenous technologies," the statement noted. IIT Kanpur-incubated startup inks pact for India’s first 100 pc electric compact tractor | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........→June 19, 2026

3 Teens Win Global Earth Prize for Inventing Tamarind Powder That Easily Removes Microplastics

The winners with their Plas-Stick invention, Avyana Mehta, Ariana Agarwal, Vivaan Chhawchharia, and their teacher Minal Jain – credit, the Earth Prize, released

In mid-May, GNN reported that 3 teens from India had won a major continental science prize for their brilliant use of an ingredient in Indian cuisine as the basis for a microplastic filter.

Now, from Geneva comes the announcement that 16-year-olds Vivaan Chhawchharia, Ariana Agarwal, and Avyana Mehta, have claimed the Global Earth Prize in addition to the Asian one, as voted by 23,000 experts from dozens of countries around the world.

“Being named the Global Winners of The Earth Prize is incredibly special for all of us, especially as the first team from India to receive this recognition,” the trio said in a statement.

“What started as an idea between students has now been recognised among thousands of projects from around the world, which feels both surreal and deeply motivating.

Their grand prize-winning invention is called Plas-Stick, and used powdered tamarind seed as the base for an all-natural microplastic clumping agent. After a short agitation period, the clumped microplastic-tamarind mass can be removed with nothing more than a magnet.

Notably, Plas-Stick is the first-ever Global Winner of The Earth Prize from India.

Designed for use in shared water containers, the biodegradable powder binds invisible plastic particles into visible clumps that can then be easily removed with a handheld magnet, offering a simple and low-cost alternative to complex filtration systems.

The idea was sparked by the team’s studies in environmental science and a visit to a rural community, where they observed how drinking water is often stored in shared containers without access to advanced filtration systems.

Globally, over 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water infrastructure, increasing reliance on stored water that may contain microplastics. Microplastics may be the most significant environmental and human health contaminant on Earth. Particles ranging in size from the 1/1 to 1/1,000th the width of human hair have been found virtually everywhere anyone has thought to look for them, including on the summit of Everest and the bottom of the Marianna Trench.

They have been recorded in worryingly high quantities in every human organ and tissue, including the brain and even placenta. Though the full gamut of toxic damage related to microplastic exposure isn’t fully known, what’s certain is that they act as strong endocrine disrupters.

Determined to create a solution that is both effective and accessible, Chhawchharia, Agarwal, and Mehta developed a system that requires no electricity or complex infrastructure. It in fact requires only a crop that’s already used widely in South Asian cuisine, which is both cultivated and thrives in the wild.

“Plas-Stick was designed to be simple, affordable and accessible, and this support allows us to take it beyond pilot schools and scale it to many more communities that need it most!”

Now following their Global Winner recognition, the team plans to scale the solution through decentralised production hubs and expand to rural communities across India, making safer drinking water more accessible across rural Indian communities and beyond.The Earth Prize is run by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded during the School Strike for Climate in 2019. At a time when climate anxiety affects a majority of young people—59% reporting they are very or extremely worried about the environment—the Prize provides a pathway from concern to action, equipping students with the tools to develop tangible, real-world solutions. 3 Teens Win Global Earth Prize for Inventing Tamarind Powder That Easily Removes Microplastics

Read More........→June 05, 2026