Uttar Pradesh
Barabanki Girl Wins PM Bal Puraskar for Dust-Free Wheat Thresher
- 06 Jan 2026
- 2 min read
Why in News?
A 17 year old girl from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh has been selected for the Prime Minister’s Bal Puraskar for developing an innovative dust-free wheat threshing device, aimed at reducing health hazards to farmers.
Key Points:
- Award: Prime Minister’s Bal Puraskar – India’s highest civilian honour for children, conferred for exceptional achievements in innovation, science, social service, sports, art, and culture.
- Awardee: Pooja Pal, resident of Agehra village, Barabanki (UP).
- Innovation: A dust-free wheat thresher attachment (Bhusa-Dhool Prithakkaran Yantra) that separates chaff and traps dust, reducing airborne particulate matter during threshing.
- Recognition & Support:
- Supported under the INSPIRE Award framework of the Ministry of Science & Technology.
- Selected for the Sakura Science High School Programme (Japan).
- Honoured by the Uttar Pradesh government as a child scientist.
- Problem Addressed: Respiratory illnesses and eye irritation caused by wheat dust during conventional threshing operations.
- Inspiration: Observation of dust affecting school children and farmers.
- Ideas derived from traditional sieving practices used at home.
- Women in STEM: Serves as a major inspiration for young girls in science and technology from marginalized backgrounds.
- Significance: Highlights grass-roots innovation, student-led problem solving, and the role of science & technology in improving occupational health in agriculture.
