Mysuru, Apr 30, 2025: For the sixth consecutive year, Mysuru’s Excel Public School has made its mark at the School Innovation Marathon (SIM) jointly organised by the Ministry of Education, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), and Niti Aayog. ‘Agnipath’, a sustainable cooking solution designed by Grade 10 students Shruthakeerthi V and Aditi V has secured grant and mentorship support from the MoE. The School Innovation Marathon is India's largest school innovation challenge that brings together students from across the country to identify community problems of their choice and develop innovative solutions in the form of working prototypes. The students of Excel Public School have received a grant commitment of ₹82,221, with the first tranche disbursed on March 27, 2025, and the second tranche is expected in late May following the submission of a progress report. The funding to enable students to create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), test variants and target market launch in the next 12-14 months.
Project Agnipath, submitted under the theme ‘Sustainable Cooking Solutions’ is a flame guide system designed to enhance the cooking efficiency of gas stoves. The innovation primarily targets street food vendors and small eateries by reducing their fuel consumption and lowering environmental impact. Students Shruthakeerthi and Aditi developed Agnipath in over four and a half months with the mentorship of Gopinath Subramaniam, Research Specialist at Excelsoft Technologies. He provided hands-on guidance in research methodology, design principles, prototyping techniques, and pitch preparation.
The students began by interviewing street vendors to understand fuel costs and inefficiencies in day-to-day cooking. They conducted research at the school’s Innovation Centre, studying various existing gas stove designs. They discovered the problems with the existing design to be poor heat utilization, high LPG consumption, and inefficient flame distribution caused by factors like large gaps between the burner and pan and the lack of insulation. This has significantly increased the costs for vendors, sometimes up to 20% of their earnings. To address this, they sketched initial designs that optimized flame distribution and reduced heat loss. The prototype featured a flame guide crafted from different heat-insulating and heat-retention materials. They tested it using an iron kadai (pan) on a single-burner stove, conducting several trials and iterations to refine the guide’s shape and maximize heat transfer.
What sets Agnipath apart is its practicality, scalability, and a proven 13.6% gas savings, directly resulting from its customized flame guide design. Following funding support, students are now looking forward to receiving detailed guidelines from the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell regarding incubation support and mentorship, which are expected by late April 2025. Building on their progress, Shruthakeerthi and Aditi plan to refine Agnipath’s design and expand testing to larger commercial burners. The team is looking at launching two variants of Agnipath priced at INR 5,000 and 7,000. The students aim to launch the product by August 2026 and targeting sales & distribution through vendor networks, retail channels, and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon.
Speaking about their experience and future plans on Agnipath, Aditi V and Shruthakeerthi V from 10th grade said, “Working on-ground and speaking directly with street food vendors helped us truly understand the problem. We discovered that nearly 20% of their earnings go towards fuel costs alone. Building Agnipath was an enriching experience - it was challenging and exciting right from identifying the core issue to experimenting with mineral and metal combinations to perfect the prototype. We are eager to keep exploring such opportunities where we can innovate with purpose and contribute to positive change.”
Talking about the students' innovative project, Principal Mathew K G said, “Over the last 6 years EPS has consistently emerged as top performers at SIM and this is our second consecutive year in securing funding from the Ministry of Education. This is a great external validation for the innovations coming out of Excel Public School’s lab. Agnipath stands at the intersection of technology and social impact. By addressing the practical challenges of fuel efficiency for street vendors, students Shruthakeerthi and Aditi, with the guidance of their mentor Gopinath, have demonstrated how technical skills, when applied with community focus, can create tangible outcomes. In the coming years, sustainability will be at the core of entrepreneurial innovation across the globe, and we want to ensure that we offer an environment where students at a very young age are encouraged to innovate and design solutions that are inclusive, sustainable, and eco-conscious.”
Appreciating the students for their creative contribution, Sudhanva D, Chairman and MD of Excel Group, said, “Agnipath represents the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that is deeply ingrained in Excel Public School’s DNA. We are exceptionally proud of our students Aditi and Shruthakeerthi for the commendable feat achieved at the latest Student Innovation Marathon, spearheaded by MoE, ATL and Niti Aayog. Over the years, Excel Public School has played an active role as an incubator and accelerator for young innovators. Our goal is to mimic a lab to market architecture that allows for ideas to scale from prototypes to viable products. We’ve built a solid ecosystem, bringing together access to mentorship, infrastructure, external partnerships (with the ministry and corporates), and funding. With 300+ innovations to date originating from EPS, our aim is to place Mysore on the national map, as a hub for student-led innovation.”
The crown jewel of Excel Public is its Innovation Centre, a 7,000-square-foot facility that allows for experimentation in multi-disciplinary projects. Its well-rounded curriculum design including STEM, STEAM and STREAM education integrates science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts, and mathematics across its curriculum. Skill development programmes, Entrepreneurship Club and exposure to emerging technologies like nanotechnology, IOT, Spacetech, Robotics and most recently AI has enabled the school to create award winning innovations on national and international stage.
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