Two Delhi School Students Develop Low-cost Air Purifiers, Plan Nationwide Expansion

New Delhi: Two Delhi school students, who have been recognised on the 2026 Diana Award Roll of Honour, have developed a low-cost filter that turns ordinary classroom fans into air purifiers, aiming to make cleaner air accessible to children in schools with limited resources.

Krish Aggarwal, a Class 12 student at Sanskriti School and Samarth Meattle, a Class 11 student at Vasant Valley School, co-founded 'Project Vayu' to address indoor air pollution.

They said that their idea was simple -- children should not have to depend on their schools' financial capacity to breathe cleaner air in classrooms.

"We started the project three years ago and conducted a pilot last year. This year, we are expanding it and do not want to limit it to Delhi but take it across the country," Meattle said.

He said the initiative was driven by the fact that many underprivileged students cannot afford air purifiers at home, while their schools may also lack the resources to install them. The students wanted to offer an affordable alternative without requiring expensive equipment.

The project began with a pilot covering 295 classrooms across Delhi, where 602 filters were installed, benefiting around 8,000 students. It has since reached more than 10,000 students through distribution in underprivileged schools, he said.

According to the student, the filter, which costs around Rs 140 to manufacture, uses electrostatically charged fibres to attract and trap fine particulate matter, including PM2.5. Its balloon-like design expands when a fan operates, increasing the filtering surface area to more than five square feet.

Designed for easy use, the filter fits over existing table or wall fans with an elastic lining. It can be installed in under a minute without tools or technical expertise, allowing teachers to fit or replace it themselves, he added.