An Indian student has been honoured with the 2026 Diana Award for building a budget-friendly air filtration system that tackles indoor pollution in classrooms. The invention converts regular classroom fans into air purifiers, offering cleaner air to students in schools that cannot afford costly purification equipment.

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Meet the Student Behind Project Vayu:

Krish Aggarwal from Sanskriti School based in New Delhi won this award for Project Vayu, which he initiated together with his classmate Samarth Meattle. The goal of the initiative is to address the problem of air pollution within classrooms at an affordable cost. The Diana Award’s official web portal states that about 10,000 students have benefited from the project so far owing to the air filtering equipment delivered to the students in different schools in Delhi.

How the Filter Works?

The device is capable of being directly attached to pre-existing classroom fans, making it unnecessarily complex to set up. The device uses fibers that are electrostatically charged. These fibers are capable of capturing fine particles like PM2.5 particles that come from the outside polluted air. As the fan gets into motion, the filter takes the shape of a balloon, which leads to expansion of the useful area for the outgoing air and greater filtering quality.

The production of one device costs roughly 140 Rs. However, the organization provides its units for free to the institutions and maintains the system by providing new devices every month. The results of the tests are available on the web page of the project. The results of the test conducted in a closed space showed the reduction of PM2.5 from 158 to 11 mg/m3 for an hour of operation.

Growing Reach Across Delhi:

In its first phase, Project Vayu covered 295 classrooms, producing 602 filters for around 8,000 students. It has since grown to benefit more than 10,000 students, and the team now plans to bring the filters to another 45 schools in the capital. Aggarwal also promotes practical, evidence-based approaches to environmental problems.

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About the Diana Award:

The Diana Award was initiated in order to commemorate Diana, the Princess of Wales. The award recognises young people who have positively contributed to their society via humanitarian efforts and community services. The award successfully demonstrates how student initiative can help solve regular social problems like air pollution and access to cleaner classrooms.