Odisha girl Tejaswini Priyadarshini has been nominated among the 60 young achievers of India. The State Bank of India (SBI) will felicitate the achievers below 20 years of age in various categories of ‘YONO 20 Under Twenty’.
The award will be given in 10 diverse fields such as sustainability, performing arts, acting, entrepreneurship or innovation, sports, global Indian, disability champion, social media influencer among others.
Tejaswini is among the three nominees in ‘Promising Game Changer-Female’ category, apart from Kavya Vignesh and Pothunuri Laya.
The 16-year-old from Rourkela has invented a fuel-free bicycle which runs up to 60 kmph with 10-kg compressed air.
Interestingly, the bicycle with no pedals called as ‘air bike can be used by differently-abled persons and reduce dependency on fossil fuels. This technology can be of great help at a time when cities across India are grappling with increasing levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the air.
The SBI launched this initiative in October 2018 by identifying 100 young achievers. The final list boiled down to 30 male and 30 female nominees. Three nominees in male and female categories were shortlisted in each category.
The nominees were shortlisted by a jury panel comprising of eight eminent personalities from diverse fields such as Bollywood actresses Dia Mirza, Soha Ali Khan, sports journalist and author Boria Majumdar, among others. While voting lines opened from January 14, it will close on January 27. The winners will be conferred with the awards at a ceremony on February 4 in Bengaluru. People can vote for their favourite nominees by visiting www.yonosbi20under20.com.