“Sometimes, the smallest spark in the darkest place can light up a world.” For 18-year-old Adarsh Kumar that spark came from a second-hand laptop his mother bought after months of saving. What began as a grit to rise over the gloomy state of poverty in childhood became an enlightening journey that has now inspired thousands. On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti in 2025, the world clapped for Adarsh Kumar for having won the Chegg.org Global Student Prize worth $100,000 from the United States.

This teenage startup founder and changemaker, who had once barely any money for a bus ticket, travelled internationally to receive the prize at an event held in London. The Global Student Prize 2025 winner Adarsh Kumar was selected out of nearly 11,000 nominations from 148 countries. Every year, Chegg Inc, a leading American educational organization, awards the Global Student Prize to “one exceptional student” who has made a real impact on society through education, innovation, and leadership.

Adarsh wants to invest the Global Student Prize money to multiply the socio-economic impact of his community welfare startup – Skillzo – through artificial intelligence and a fellowship. When he was 16 in 2023, he launched Skillzo that helps underprivileged yet meritorious students get scholarships and connects underserved rural youth with mentors for career guidance, as well as development opportunities. In just two years, Skillzo has supported 20,000 students and youths.

A part of the prize money would go into expanding Skillzo and supporting it with AI for better outcomes. He would utilize the prize money to introduce Ignite Fellowship for student innovators and run SkillzoX, a soon-to-be-launched upskilling program designed to empower the deserving youth with future-ready courses in communication, entrepreneurship, leadership, and of course, AI. Building on his experience of struggles to find mentors, he is eyeing improvements for more students and youths, irrespective of religion, community, and caste.

Raised by a single mother who worked as a domestic help to make ends meet; Adarsh Kumar joined the league of legends in Champaran, Bihar where Mahatma Gandhi started his Satyagraha Movement in 1917. Champaran, a historical place with stories of freedom movement, is also the birthplace of George Orwell, an English novelist of ‘Animal Farm’ fame; Manoj Bajpai, a National Film Award-winning actor; and Ramesh Chandra Jha, an eminent author and freedom fighter.

Education being the ultimate baton of ahimsa (non-violence) that Gandhiji preached in his lifetime encouraged Adarsh to dream big in a poverty-laden home where resources were scarce but aspirations were not. At 14, he left home in quest of better education opportunities beyond his village, with strong willpower and the old laptop that his mother had purchased for him. The laptop was his only outlet to access the outer world and explore free online courses until he left the village to make it big in life.

Eventually, he ended up in Kota, a city in Rajasthan, and the hub of prominent coaching institutes in India. Unable to afford paid classes, he studied in libraries, used free Wi-Fi, and continued to reach out to mentors for guidance. His hard work and persistence paid off when he earned a full scholarship worth INR 30 lakh to study at Jayshree Periwal International School in Jaipur.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Adarsh Kumar, then only 13, demonstrated leadership by launching a community initiative named Mission Badlao to improve education and healthcare in rural Bihar. The initiative helped secure land for a government school, organized over 2,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, distributed menstrual health products, and led plantation drives. His initiatives earned him recognition far and wide. He is one of the youngest Google Youth Advisors in India and has held leadership roles, including Chief Marketing Officer of Bihar Chhatra Sansad.

The Chegg Global Student Prize winner Adarsh Kumar’s story of grit and resilience, from the dusty streets of Champaran to the spotlight of international media, is a stark reminder – no beginning is too humble for a life to bloom and prosper. He does not define success in terms of wealth or fame but in the number of students empowered and communities uplifted. The award is not just another milestone in his journey, but a big opportunity to scale his mission and vision.

This article is brought to you by Travel Beats, a leading portal for Indian community stories and international travel news. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, the most trusted air-ticketing partner of Indians and Americans for 18 years. Subscribe to the newsletter and follow us on Instagram for significant updates on USA to India travel.

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America’s national science competition – Discovery 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2025 has announced top 10 finalists including 8 Indian American students. In the past 15 years, the ‘Top Young Scientist’ title has gone to Indian immigrants 7 times. Kids of Indian origin have time and again shined in the competition for their problem-solving ideas and scientific innovations. Just like the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, where 7 of the 9 finalists were Indian Americans, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge is also being dominated by Indian-origin talents.

List of Indian-origin winners of America’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge:

• Deepika Kurup, New Hampshire in 2012
• Sahil Doshi, Pennsylvania in 2014
• Maansa Mendu, Ohio in 2016
• Gitanjali Rao, Colorado in 2017
• Rishab Jain, Oregon in 2018
• Anika Chebrolu, Texas in 2020
• Sirish Subash, Georgia in 2024

3M Young Scientist Challenge 2025: Eight Indian American Finalists

Divyam Desai, Texas

Divyam Desai, a 7th grader from Frisco, TX, is one of the 10 finalists of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2025 for his foundation tilt prevention system. His innovative irrigation system monitors soil moisture and waters the soil, only as needed, around building foundations in order to prevent damages that expansion soils cause to the foundation of brick-and-mortar structures in Texas. It would save his parents and other homeowners hefty repair costs. At the same time, his smart invention would help conserve water in clay-rich regions.

Divyam wants to become a mathematician, as algebra and statistics fascinate him. This 13-year-old believes that 3D printers are the best invention of the last 100 years.

Reanna Bhuyan Patel, New Jersey

13-year-old Reanna from Princeton, New Jersey has built a next-gen device based on thermoelectric principles. Her device captures energy from surrounding heat and converts it into electricity. Thus, her low-cost electricity generation tool has the potential to provide clean energy to communities with zero to little access to reliable power. No wonder why this project earned her a spot among the finalists for America’s Top Young Scientist title in 2025.

She believes, “Intelligence is not defined by what you know, but by the power of what you do with it.” In 2024, Reanna Bhuyan Patel won the New Jersey State Merit Award from 3M for developing a zero-energy air conditioning system. She aspires to become an entrepreneur and an engineer.

Anirudh Rao, Colorado

12-year-old Anirudh Rao is the youngest of all finalists for Discovery 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2025. He built a moisture-powered nano-generator that can provide clean, affordable electricity for health and environmental sensors in areas with limited access to power. His innovation focuses on making renewable energy solutions more practical and accessible, especially in off-grid locations.

Being a prolific inventor, Anirudh competed for America’s Top Young Scientist title in the past three years, each time with a new solution. However, he made it as a finalist this year. He also developed a tornado detection system using a network of drones designed to detect infrasound and sense approaching tornadoes.

Amaira Srivastava, Arizona

Amaira Srivastava’s commitment to curbing food waste, plastic pollution, and climate change brought her to the Discovery 3M Young Scientist Challenge finals 2025. Aiming to promote sustainability, she has created biodegradable cups made with fruit peels not only to reduce plastic waste, but also to deliver natural nutrients through flavonoid-rich water. She believes that the 3M Young Scientist Challenge platform would help make her product a household item in the US and beyond.

Amaira dreams of becoming a global scientist, innovator, and purpose-driven entrepreneur who tackles challenges like climate change, pollution, and hunger.

Sheyna Patel, Florida

Sheyna Patel, an 8th grader from Longwood, has been named a finalist for the 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2025 for her innovative solution to a major environmental problem. She has developed a non-toxic hydrogel that can capture and break down microplastics in water with over 93% efficiency, offering a promising way to protect aquatic ecosystems. Her project showcases both scientific skill and deep concern for the environment.

This 14-year-old is 14-year-old and passionate about STEM research and is driven by a strong desire to solve real-world problems. Sheyna Patel’s favorite invention of the past 100 years is the smartphone, as it helps her explore and understand the possibilities of the world.

Shrey Arora, Tennessee

Among the finalists for America’s Top Young Scientist title 2025, Shrey Arora from Tennessee presents a solution that both homemakers and restaurant owners would love. A resident of Collierville in the Memphis metropolitan area, Shrey has developed FreshMate, a smart fridge device that tracks expiration dates of refrigerated food items, and thus, helps to reduce food waste in everyday life.

Passionate about solving real-world problems, Shrey dreams of working at NASA. He was named the 2024 Tennessee State Merit Winner in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. He is mentored by Indian-origin Lalitha Ganapatibhotla, an advanced product development specialist in 3M.

Aniket Sarkar, Florida

Aniket Sarkar’s low-cost atmospheric solution for farmers in the arid regions of America will compete for the first prize at Discovery 3M Young Scientist Challenge this year. a 7^th grader from Sarasota, Aniket developed an easy-to-use atmospheric moisture capturing system that absorbs water from air to support farming in the arid regions of hinterlands.

Aniket hopes to become an environmental engineer aiming to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Despite being 13-year-old, he has already gained hands-on experience in rocketry and robotics, which has fueled his passion for innovation.

Isha Marla, Oregon

Isha is famed in her school as the “young doctor in the making.” She is 14-year-old and is one of the top 10 finalists of the America’s 2025 Young Scientist Challenge. Isha created AlginaFAB, a fabric made from seaweed and other natural ingredients. Her eco-friendly textile mimics the strength and flexibility of traditional fabrics while being fully biodegradable.

She is an 8th grader from Portland with a strong passion for science, innovation, and music. Isha has been studying piano and percussion for the past 8 years, and her favorite invention of the past 100 years is the drum set. She hopes to become a cardiovascular surgeon, aiming to perform life-saving surgeries and drive innovation in healthcare.

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“Grandparents once held our hands to teach us how to walk. Now it’s our turn to guide them through the digital world.” That thought stays close to the heart of Tejasvi Manoj, a 16-year-old American student of Indian origin. She is building an AI-powered app that could shield senior citizens from online scams. Like Siddharth Nandyala, another Indian-origin teen CEO who developed an AI tool to detect heart disease in seconds, Tejasvi is part of a new wave of Indian-origin youth using artificial intelligence to solve meaningful, real-world problems.

A high schooler in Texas, Tejasvi one day found out that her 85-year-old grandfather had almost fallen for an online scam. He received a message urgently requesting a money transfer. It was a clear phishing attempt, full of suspicious wording and pressure tactics. Tejasvi was surprised that her grandfather was not able to recognize it as fraudulent even though it was immediately obvious to her and her parents.

This incident brought to her notice a huge gap that no one was talking about. While Gen-Z students like her are taught cyber safety in school, and adults often get trained at work, most older people are left to figure it out on their own. She started researching and found the numbers were worse than she imagined.

Tejasvi discovered that nearly 75% of adults over 65 didn’t understand basic cybersecurity practices like two-factor authentication. In 2024 alone, cybercriminals stole over $3 billion from older adults in the US, an average of $33,915 per person, yet only one in five victims reported the crime to authorities. Many victims had no idea how to protect themselves or whom to ask for help.

With the problem clear in her mind, Tejasvi started building Shield Seniors, an AI-powered platform to help senior citizens stay safe online. The idea was simple: provide easy-to-understand tools and guidance to prevent the elderly population from stepping into digital traps. She has strong support from her parents, both software engineers who moved to the US from India in the early 2000s.

As a second-generation immigrant born in California, Tejasvi discovered her love for coding in middle school through programs like “Girls Who Code”. That early spark soon turned into a purpose when she went on to develop a working prototype of Shield Seniors that helps older adults learn basic cybersecurity measures and identify easily whether a message they receive is legitimate or a potential scam.

Shield Seniors, now in its demo stage, offers four main features. The Learn section offers easy, jargon-free information on staying safe online and spotting scams. If users come across a suspicious email, message, or website, they can turn to the Ask feature and get quick answers from the chatbot. The Analyze tool lets them upload screenshots of messages, which the AI reviews to flag anything unsafe. And in the Help section, step-by-step guides and FAQs walk users through everything they need to know.

She spent her free time exploring online tutorials and YouTube videos, teaching herself how to build and train AI models. She tested different tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, and even switched to open-source models to keep costs down. Now in 11th grade at Lebanon Trail High School, Tejasvi has a big goal – she wants this app to be on every senior citizen’s phone once it’s fully launched.

As Tejasvi continues to develop the app, she regularly shares updated versions with older adults in her community. She listens closely to their feedback, noting what works and what doesn’t. Their suggestions led her to simplify the interface, enlarge buttons and fonts, and make the instructions clearer. Every change she makes is guided by real conversations with seniors, ensuring the app truly meets their needs.

Even though her app is still in the demo stage, Tejasvi received an Honorable Mention in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge. She also presented her work to AARP, the country’s largest nonprofit focused on supporting people aged 50 and older. She was even introduced to entrepreneurial TV shows like Shark Tank. Her project has been featured in several global NRI publications, including Travel Beats.

Her grandfather, the inspiration behind it all, passed away in January. For Tejasvi Manoj, Shield Seniors is both a tribute to him and a promise to protect others like him. As a second-generation Indian American, she sees it as her way of giving back to senior citizens across the world, including in the US and India. In a country where five millions of Indian-origin families have made their home, stories like hers are quietly shaping a better future.

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The Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating its 100^th edition in 2025, and once again, Indian-origin spellers are in the spotlight. They have been on a winning spree for three decades by tossing the most coveted trophy in 29 out of the past 35 grand finales. They have been dominating the competition with exceptional talent, dedication, family blessings, and their parents’ hard work – which has forced the making of several documentaries, including Breaking the Bee, decoding what makes Indian kids unbeatable spellers.

Like previous years, the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals has a majority of finalists from Indian Community in America. The art and science of spelling tongue-twisting words is a cherished pursuit in many Indian households across the United States. May their legacy of wins in spelling bee contests continue this year!

Sarv Dharavane, Georgia

Sarv Dharavane, only 11 years old, is making waves as the youngest finalist in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He is a bundle of energy and curiosity. Reading and playing outdoors are his favorite pursuits. Other than being active in soccer and swimming, he has earned a green belt in tae kwon do. From solving Rubik’s Cubes at a lightning speed to building with Lego and dabbling in coding, Sarv is a problem-solving prodigy. A diehard fan of fantasy books and movies, he aspires to be a scientist or mathematician.

Harini Murali, New Jersey

Harini Murali, a talented 8^th grader from Edison, New Jersey, is no stranger to the Scripps stage. She had started her journey as a speller from the fourth grade. After tying for 9th place in 2024, she returned with more confidence and ended up among the 9 finalists of Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025. A history buff, Harini is also deeply rooted in the arts. She learns Carnatic music and Indian classical dance, and proudly plays first chair viola in her school’s chamber orchestra. Whether it is academics or arts, Harini brings dedication and grace to everything she does.

Sarvadnya Kadam, California

Sarvadnya Kadam, a curious and thoughtful eighth grader from California, lives up to the meaning of his Sanskrit name, “the one who knows all.” He loves diving deep into ancient history, math, and profound philosophical questions. A big fan of classics like The Iliad and The Odyssey, Sarvadnya previously competed in 2023 (tying for 23rd place) and 2024 (tying for 60th place). This time, he is among the Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists. He is fond of Mumbai’s street food like Pav Bhaji and admires Kautilya Chanayka.

Aishwarya Kallakuri, North Carolina

Aishwarya Kallakuri, a 14 year old from Charlotte, is a determined finalist this year after tying for 22^nd place in 2024. She is an avid reader, prolific writer, and a music enthusiast. This eighth grader distributes yoga and philosophy books for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Her profound interest in learning new languages took her on trips to India, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. With dreams of pursuing a career in psychology and neurology, Aishwarya hopes to give back to the spelling community that has shaped her journey.

Faizan Zaki, Texas

Faizan Zaki, a bright 13-year-old from Dallas, Texas, had incredibly finished second in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals. He is now eying the most coveted trophy as one of the finalists this year. He made history last year as the first Indian Muslim in 96 years to rank second at the Bee. When he is not playing with words, Faizan is all about fun. Playing video games, chatting with friends, speedcubing, and making music on the viola are his favorite pastimes. Faizan, a language enthusiast, is currently picking up French.

Akshaj Somisetty, Pennsylvania 

Akshaj Somisetty, a fun-loving 13 year old from Pennsylvania, is back to the 2025 Scripps Spelling Bee as a finalist after tying for 60th place in 2024. When he is not buys spelling tricky words, Akshaj enjoys biking, swimming, and catching up on sleep. He is a big fan of board games and loves reading fantasy books. He is equally proficient in Telugu and Spanish other than English. He has a sweet tooth for cookies as well as cream ice cream, and binge-eats pizza. New Zealand is his dream destination.

Esha Marupudi, Arizona

Esha Marupudi, a 13-year-old seventh grader from Phoenix, Arizona, nailed the spelling of the word ‘Ektexine’ and made it to the grand finale of Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025. She is more than a spelling whiz. She’s a music lover who enjoys singing and playing the piano. When she’s not hitting the right notes, Esha loves diving into books on biology and history. She also enjoys fun family moments, playing board games like Monopoly and Scrabble with her little sister. She nurtures dreams of becoming a singer-songwriter and making it big in medicine.

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“Age is merely a number; it’s the passion and vision that truly define one’s impact.” These words ring true for Sirish Subash who won America’s Top Young Scientist Challenge in 2024, 10^th grader Deepali, a washerman’s daughter, who earned a US government scholarship, and Pranjali Awasthi who runs an AI startup disrupting Google-dominated online search market. 14-year-old Siddharth Nandyala, an Indian-origin inventor cum entrepreneur in the US, is among the newcomers in the elite club of prodigies. Siddharth has developed an AI-powered app that detects heart disease within seconds, with an accuracy of over 96%.

With cardiovascular disease being one of the biggest lifetakers in the world, Siddharth Nandyala’s CircadiaV app is a breakthrough in science, technology, and healthcare. He invented a simple, easy-to-use, cost-effective solution for saving lives, particularly in economically backward countries and in India’s rural backwaters with little to zero access to a healthcare system. This Indian-American tech prodigy is the founder and CEO of STEM IT.

Based in Dallas, Texas; Siddharth’s immigrant parents are from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. His father Mahesh Nandyala moved to the US in 2010 and is a serial entrepreneur with several startups in artificial intelligence. Born in a family that values education and innovation, he has grown up with natural curiosity for technology and its potential to solve real-world problems. Unlike kids of his age, he showed interest in making the right use of gadgets at a very tender age. His tryst with technology began at the age of 7, when his mother, Srilatha, showed him how to code.

Before joining the University of Texas, Dallas for a bachelors degree in Computer Science for Fall 2025, Siddharth earned certifications in artificial intelligence and machine learning from Oracle and ARM, thereby emerging as the world’s youngest AI-certified professional. He was not just doing certifications but chasing solutions. That’s when he started working on the app CircadiaV aiming to make detection of heart diseases easier, faster, and a lot more cost-effective. After all, timely detection may help many lives escape early death.

How Siddharth Nandyala’s CircadiaV app works? It records one’s heartbeats through a smartphone microphone, uses AI to analyse the data, and detects potential cardiac ailments – all in 7 seconds. No lab visits. No heavy machines. No expensive clinical tests. All that the app requires is a smartphone in good condition. CircadiaV has successfully been tested on 15,000 patients in the US and 700 in India during pilot trials.

STEM IT’s CEO Siddharth didn’t stop with just one invention. While working on his app, he came across another issue – prosthetic limbs. Many people who lose their arms in accidents or medical conditions can’t afford artificial limbs because they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Siddharth decided to fix that too. He is now developing a brain-controlled prosthetic arm using EEG technology, bringing the cost down to just $300. That’s truly going to be life changing for many.

His transformative and disruptive innovations have already earned him recognitions. He was named Innovator of the Year by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and received a Certificate of Recognition from the US House of Representatives. His startup STEM IT has garnered national attention, including a featured appearance on “Good Morning America” (broadcast on ABC). In 2014, he was honored with the distinction of delivering a keynote address, at the Global IndiaAI Summit, about his perspectives on the future of artificial intelligence.

At just 14, he has achieved what takes many adults a lifetime. And the best thing? It’s just the beginning for him. Despite being an innovator and an entrepreneur, he is still a growing kid at heart. Chess is his other passion. He admits that chess has played a big role in shaping his ability to think critically and solve problems strategically.

Travel Beats, a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, promotes achievements of young Indians in Americans through a series of success stories. IndianEagle.com, the most trusted travel-booking partner of Indians in USA, makes sure students, H1B visa holders, senior citizens on B2 visa, OCI Cardholders and others travel on best flights between USA and India for the lowest fares possible. 

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No matter President Trump latches the door of America to keep the less affluent, the marginalized, and the underprivileged outside; some journeys from the streets or slums in India are destined for success in the United States, braving barriers and borders. Among them is the journey of Anuja from the streets of Old Delhi to the Oscars in Los Angeles. Anuja is an Oscar-nominated short film and a 9-year-old orphaned math whiz, who lives with her elder sister and works in a seedy garment factory.

Nominated for the Best Live Action Short Film at the 97^th Academy Awards, Anuja is a poignant drama on the struggles and aspirations of two budding women by a team of Indian-origin women producers, including Mindy Kaling, Guneet Monga, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Suchitra Mattai. From filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali to Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay to the present-day Anuja, the stories of innocence transit into journeys of experience – the experience that is grim and gloomy.

Anuja and her elder sister, Palak not only stitch clothes in the garment factory but also weave dreams of change for better out of cut pieces (leftover fabric). They remain stuck between a system that perpetuates child labor and a narrow path to escape the system. The bags they secretly make from cut pieces earn them some rupees, a part of which buys them short-lived happiness from mundane luxuries (watching a movie and munching popcorn) and the remaining is saved for an uncertain future.

Like Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s short stories, the short film Anuja has an inconclusive ending. The curtain drops when Anuja, the protagonist, stands still contemplating on the road that diverges in two different directions – one to the factory where she toils for two meals a day and the other to a scholarship for free schooling. It represents the dilemma, mental conflict at large, of hundreds of thousands of children like Anuja, from slums and streets across India, who are tossed between the present and the future, reality and dreams.

Let’s now meet the real hero, Sajda Pathan, who lends absolute authenticity to essaying the titular character, Anuja, and brings it to life. Abandoned by her parents, Sajda Pathan grew up in the claustrophobic lanes of Old Delhi and survived through begging outside a temple before she was rescued by Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT), a nonprofit NGO supporting street children in Delhi-NCR with non-formal education. Salaam Baalak Trust was founded with the proceeds from Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay which was nominated for an Oscar at the 61^st Academy Awards.

Unlike Anuja whose mathematical brilliance was exploited by her employer in the film, Sajda Pathan’s acting talent became a force of change for her fortune. Sajda shines as the protagonist Anuja as it is her second film. She debuted on the silver screen as a lead character in The Braid (La Tresse), a 2023 French feature film.

The Oscar-nominated Anuja short film is strongly backed by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Guneet Monga as executive producers. Guneet Monga was the executive producer of two Oscar-winning documentary films – Period. End of Sentence in 2019 and The Elephant Whisperers in 2023. She has produced a galaxy of critically acclaimed films, including Massan, Rang Rasiya, That Girl in Yellow Boots, Pagglait, and The Lunchbox.

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A national security risk or a bold bet on young recruits? A giant leap in the pursuit of American Dream or the beginning of the end of a bright career? The US media is rife with this debate on 21-year-old Indian American Akash Bobba, one of the newly hired engineers in the 19-23 age group for key roles in Elon Musk’s DOGE, a federal agency. He is possibly the youngest Indian-origin recruit in the Trump administration 2025.

Who is Akash Bobba in the Department of Government Efficiency that Tesla chief Elon Musk formed with President Trump’s executive order on 20 January? It is one of the trending social media topics and popular Google searches this week. He is a UC Berkley graduate with impressive credentials in coding, analytics, and artificial intelligence. One of the six recruits, the youngest being a 19-year-old, whom Elon Musk handpicked for his ambitious experimentation at DOGE. Akash interned at Silicon Valley giants, Palantir, and wrote AI models for Meta.

What made Elon Musk hire Akash Bobba is that the latter is a future-ready tech leader with a proven track record of solving business-critical problems under pressure and in a very short time. He also excelled at the prestigious Management Entrepreneurship Technology (MET) program at UC Berkeley and gained first-hand knowledge of financial modelling techniques at the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. His mental agility, boundless enthusiasm, zest for learning, adaptability, and passion for everything tech make a collective drive for Elon Musk’s DOGE – a cost cutter for the US government’s federal spending.

Scheduled to end in July 2026, Elon Musk-led DOGE project’s objective is to “modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” It aligns with Trump’s election campaign promises to curtail federal overheads, reduce the government’s fiscal deficit, and ensure proper utilization of the federal budget. Musk, the world’s richest billionaire, has proposed that his DOGE project and team may make the federal budget shrink by up to $2 trillion through rigorous measures, including but not limited to, trimming the workforce, shutting down redundant agencies, and consolidating federal agencies from 400 to fewer than 100.

What caused the uproar among Americans over Musk’s appointment of Akash Bobba and other young engineers to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? It is their high-level security clearance to access classified data of federal budget and taxation, as well as the government IT system, despite having no prior experience in any public service domain. A group of Trump’s supporters call it a potential threat to the national security citing that unprecedented access to restricted government systems is usually granted to experienced federal officials with clean records, not fresh college graduates.

Critics of the Trump 2.0 administration describe the bold government system overhaul by Elon Musk-led DOGE team as a ‘high-stake gamble.’ However, Akash Bobba’s meteoric rise from coding internships to a key federal agency in the new US government is grabbing the headlines. Alongside the news of Akash Bobba in DOGE, an anecdote about his remarkable coding skills is making rounds on social media. Charis Zhang, one of his former classmates, shares the anecdote,

“During a project at Berkeley, I accidentally deleted our entire codebase. I panicked. Akash just stared the screen, shrugged, and rewrote everything from scratch in one night – better than before. We submitted early and got first in the class.”

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Meet 14-year-old Sirish Subash from India, who won Discovery 3M’s Young Scientist Challenge 2024 and emerged as America’s top young scientist out of the 10 finalists including 6 Indian-origin contestants. Among thousands of promising innovators and inventors with a problem-solving attitude, only the best 10 budding scientists made it to the grand finale of America’s premier middle school science competition. While vying for America’s Top Young Scientist title, the finalists demonstrated the transformative power of STEM and their commitment to solving everyday issues and pressing global challenges.

Sirish Subash, Georgia

Sirish Subash from Georgia won America’s Top Young Scientist title and received a whopping $25,000 cash prize for his AI-based handheld device that can easily and accurately detect the presence of pesticide residues on agricultural produces. Science being his only passion, Sirish bagged the Agricultural Research Service Award for Excellence at the Georgia Science & Engineering Fair early this year. His AI-based pesticide detector, if developed further, could greatly enhance public health and food safety. He looks forward to developing futuristic devices to fight climate and environmental challenges for a better world.

Mentored by Aditya Banerji, a senior research engineer, America’s Young Scientist title 2024 winner Sirish says that his device is small, portable, and Bluetooth-enabled. “Some pesticide residue is rigid enough to be washed away when we rinse vegetables and fruits from markets. The idea is not to replace washing, but rather to help ensure that those produces are clean enough for cooking or consumption.”

Prince Nallamothula, Texas

A resident of Frisco in Texas, Prince Nallamothula who hails from the Telugu-speaking region of India has developed an innovative technique to use quantum dots in solar cells and test the cells in quantum chemistry. This wannabe quantum scientist wishes to make breakthroughs in the field of quantum technology. The US President’s Environmental Youth Award 2020 was presented to Prince Nallamothula, a 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalist. Notably, he is a TEDx Youth speaker and coach at the age of 14. He is serving as a young scientist at QuantumAstra, a startup working on next-gen computing, communication and sensing solutions in Frisco, TX.

Interestingly, the Mayor of Frisco declared 15 January 2019 as “Prince Nallamothula Day” in Frisco, recognizing his outstanding talent through an official proclamation.

Ronita Shukla, Massachusetts 

Of all the 10 finalists for America’s Young Scientist title 2024, Ronita Shukla has developed a novel solution to get atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbed more than usual through increased photosynthesis by spirulina (blue green algae). Since spirulina grows 10 times faster than trees in the same stretch of land, it can increase the rate of photosynthesis, thereby sequestering more CO2 in the atmosphere. This 7^th grader from Acton, Massachusetts adjudges mobile internet as her favorite invention of the past 100 years. She aspires to be a research scientist or professor.

Aakash Manaswi, Florida 

Among the finalists of Discovery 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2024, Aakash Manaswi has prototyped a natural solution to save beehives from mite infestation. The livelihood of beekeepers in most parts of the US is threatened by the varroa mite, a parasitic pest that feeds on honey bees. The existing treatment of mite infestation is an expensive, time-consuming process. Since beekeeping is a key to the planet’s ecological balance, his invention could be more effective in saving the world’s most accomplished pollinators, honey bees.

A resident of Orlando in Florida, Aakash Manaswi aspires to become an entomologist and make beekeeping a fruitful practice.

Ankan Das, Florida

8^th grader Ankan Das has developed an intelligent walking robot as a fool-proof surveillance solution to vie for the title of America’s top young scientist 2024. The robot can be put in motion without motors or gears. Ankan, an aspiring aerospace engineer, has been passionate about robotics and aeronautics since his elementary school days. He wants to grow up designing and developing new-gen technologies, such as advanced rovers and robots for space explorations. Modern-day aircraft is his favorite invention of the past 100 years. Advanced aircraft facilitates tourism, cultural exchange, global trade, and international relations.

Rithvik Suren, Connecticut     

Rithvik Suren, who lives with his parents in Windsor, has made it to the finals of America’s most prestigious STEM competition for his AI-based innovation. Leveraging the power of AI intelligence, he is working on an innovative method that can predict impending occurrence of earthquakes and study sequences to make better predictions of such events in the future. Rithvik Suren wishes to study mechatronics engineering so that he could develop nano-tech solutions to threats to human life. Nanotechnology is his favorite invention of the past 100 years.

From 2012 until 2020, America’s Top Young Scientist title went to 6 Indian-origin kids named Deepika Kurup (2012), Sahil Doshi (2014), Maanasa Mendu (2016), Gitanjali Rao (2017), Rishab Jain (2018), and Anika Chebrolu (2020). Unfortunately, the Indian immigrant community did not have good luck with the ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’ title in the past three years. Hence, Sirish Subash’s win not only filled the three-year void but also brought back the prestigious honor to Indian immigrants in USA.

The post Meet Indian-origin Sirish Subash who Wins America’s Top Young Scientist Challenge 2024; A Great Win after 3 Years first appeared on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

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Indeed, the US is a land of opportunities, not only for Indian immigrants exploring pathways to lawful permanent residency but also Indian students nurturing the American Dream. Once again, the States has opened doors to 30 meritorious and deserving students from India, regardless of their socio-economic background. Among them is Deepali Kannoujia, a 10^th grader from rural India, whose academic dreams are flying to America on the wings of a US government scholarship.

16-year-old Deepali, the daughter of a washerwoman, has been selected for the US State Department’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program. YES, one of the prestigious scholarship programs, is a coveted opportunity for needy and meritorious students from developing countries to spend an academic year in the USA. Deepali’s journey from a marginal community in Uttar Pradesh to the United States has been making headlines worldwide as a story of inspiration, resilience, and perseverance.

Born into a family that survives on such humble means as washing clothes, Deepali has grown up with dreams not privileges. She is the youngest of four siblings. As the family income from traditional laundry goes into securing two meals a day for 6-7 family members, Deepali would shudder at the thought of not reaching her academic goals, primarily because of very little financial support from home. The situation became topsy-turvy when a chronic health condition made her father bedridden, leaving her mother all alone to manage household expenses.

Currently, Deepali is busy learning the etiquette of flying and packing her bags as her first-ever international flight to USA from New Delhi is scheduled on August 19, 2024. Prerna Girls School, a nonprofit institution in Lucknow for girls from low-income families, has been a stepping stone in Deepali Kannoujia’s journey from a humble background to international recognition, and from India to USA. The school run by the Study Hall Educational Foundation has supported Deepali’s academic pursuits from the very beginning.

On seeing her ardent zeal for studies and outstanding academic results in the face of adversities, the school encouraged her to apply for the US State Department’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program. Of course, she had to fulfil certain eligibility criteria (elaborated below) for the scholarship.

“My mother is my biggest motivation. I have seen her work so hard for the family every day, which she continues to do till today. She can barely read and write, but she always taught me to value education and focus on my studies,” Deepali told a media publication.

What is Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program USA?

Integrated to the US foreign policy, the program is out and out a merit-based scholarship. It helps develop sustained connections between the Americans and talented students from developing nations, thereby creating space for the youth leadership growth and cross-cultural inclusivity in a civil society. The students selected for the YES program get to stay with host families in the US while attending local high schools for a year. The program also requires them to take part in civic education and community events there.

The expenses that the YES program covers for the eligible students include round trip flight tickets, pre-departure orientation, monthly stipend, health insurance, accommodation for 10-11 months, medical examinations and immunizations.

Who can apply for Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program?

Students who fall in the age group of 15 to 18 years and study in 8^th, 9^th, 10^th or 11^th grade can apply for the YES program. Intermediate-level proficiency in English speaking, writing and reading is a must, alongside a strong academic performance record. A minimum of 70% in grades over the past four consecutive school years is compulsory. The applicants must be legal residents/citizens of India or other eligible countries. Their total family income must be lesser than Rs 5 lakh. Their international travel history also matters. Those who have either not visited the US ever or stayed not more than 90 days in the US in the past 5 years are preferred for the program.

Travel Beats, a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, promotes achievements of young Indians through a series of success stories that many NRIs can relate to. Indian Eagle, the most trusted travel-booking partner of Indians in USA, makes sure students, H1B visa holders, senior citizens and others travel on best flights to and from India for the lowest fares available.

The post Washerman’s Daughter Deepali, a Brilliant 10th Grader, Bags a US Government Scholarship first appeared on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

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“Are you sure you are 10 years old?” Sofia Vergara, one of the four judges, could not help wondering about the age of Maya Neelakantan, a metal guitarist, who mesmerized everyone during her audition on the stage of America’s Got Talent. Sofia went on to say, “Your energy, your confidence. A perfect audition! Amazing!” The other judges were equally praiseful of her. Heidi Klum, a renowned supermodel and reality show host, added, “Everyone in this room loved what you just did. You should be proud of yourself.”

Who is Maya Neelakantan? “The rock goddess,” as one of the AGT judges hailed Maya, is a metal guitarist from Chennai, India. Trained in Carnatic music, she set the America’s Got Talent stage on fire with her unique rendition of “Last Resort” by Papa Roach on an electric guitar. She started coyly with an authentic Carnatic Nata Bhairavi Raga and graduated to strum the chords of “Last Resort” with headbanging. The judges unanimously sent her to the next round.

Not only her performance, but also her appearance impressed Indians in America and beyond. With a bindi adorning her forehead and a pair of dangling jhumkas accessorizing her Indian ethnic outfit, Maya Neelakantan gave the impression to the world that no matter what she performs or where she performs, she carries her Indian culture and heritage that she inherited by birth. The Indian Diaspora is proud of Maya because she did not ape American fashion to impress the judges.

“Maya Neelakantan’s performance at America’s Got Talent seems to remind the US of Carnatic exponent M S Subbulakshmi’s historic performance at the UN General Assembly in 1966. Such comparisons are just, though exaggerated. Like M S Subbulakshmi, 10-year-old Maya is from the land of Carnatic music and made the cut on her first visit to the United States. Since Subbulakshmi’s concert tour of the US, it has been nearly 60 years. Precisely, America sees Indian talent galore,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats.

Like Indian American Tiara Abraham, Maya’s musical journey commenced at a very young age. She took a fancy to heavy metal music when she was barely 5. As a YouTuber, her name spread far and wide by the age of 9. Her command over electric guitars did not go unnoticed and unrewarded by Tool’s lead guitarist, Adam Thomas Jones. Spellbound by Maya Neelakantan’s version of Tool’s 16-minute epic 7Empest, Adam Jones sent his signature guitar to her in 2022.

“My dream is to combine all of my music interests to create something that is totally unheard of! I want to create a genre of my own combining the intricate Carnatic music and the extreme Thrash Metal.

This story is part of our continued effort to give a shoutout to achievements of Young Indians in America. Travel Beats is a leading diaspora portal and a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, a most trusted air-ticketing partner of Indians abroad. Sign up to our newsletter for latest community stories, US visa and immigration updates, and everything about US-India air travel.

The post Who is Maya Neelakantan? The 10-year-old from India Rocks in America’s Got Talent first appeared on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

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