Vinisha Umashankar carried the Queen’s Baton for the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth games
Birmingham 2022 is staging the 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay – an epic journey across the Commonwealth, with The Queen’s Baton visiting all 72 nations and territories. And the baton finally arrived in India (27th Nation in route) on 12 Jan 2022 and will be here till 15 Jan.
Vinisha Umashankar, a student innovator turned environmentalist carried the Queen’s Baton on 13th Jan and is also selected as a “changemaker”. Vinisha hails from the Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu. She has been an inspiration for many, and that was an important aspect of being selected as a baton-bearer.
The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay started at the Buckingham Palace in London on 7th October 2021 and is scheduled to conclude on 28th July 2022 at the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games after travelling for 294 days.
Vinisha Umashankar – A student innovator who is inspiring the world
Vinisha is an innovator who later turned into an environmentalist to fight for the planet Earth. She made a mobile ironing cart, which uses solar panels to power a steam iron for which she was awarded the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards instituted by National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
Her speech at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2021 at Glasgow, Scotland turned out to be an inspiration for the world, With the same intent, Vinisha is continuously putting her efforts to bring a change into the world.
Vinisha’s solar ironing cart
A key benefit of Vinisha’s solar ironing cart is that it eliminates the need for coal for ironing, bringing about a welcome shift towards clean energy. End-users can move around and offer services at the doorstep for increasing their daily earning.
The ironing cart can also be fitted with a coin-operated GSM PCO, USB charging points, and mobile recharging, which can fetch extra income. It is an ingenious solar-powered alternative for the millions of charcoal burning ironing carts for pressing clothes and can benefit the workers and their families. The device can also be powered by pre-charged batteries, electricity, or a diesel-powered generator in the absence of sunlight.
The nation is committed to solving the global climate change problem through Science, Technology, and Innovation based solutions. Next-generation innovators like Vinisha who provide the nation a strong hope by virtue of their scientific thinking, societal focus can inspire a large section of youth to take up the difficult challenge and shine through their talents.
