India 2025 – Environmental action often begins with small observations. For Abhishek Dhanda and Prabhkirat Singh, that observation came from everyday scenes in Ludhiana, a city in Punjab, India. They noticed a pattern—households and local markets were producing large amounts of organic waste that routinely ended up mixed with plastic. At the same time, farmers and gardeners in and around Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) were constantly seeking better-quality organic manure for their soil. The supply and demand existed side by side, yet no efficient system connected them. To help the team with social media marketing, Rachita Chandok joined temporarily in June 2025; the founding team remains Abhishek Dhanda and Prabhkirat Singh.

During their time working at PAU, the team observed another challenge. Traditional vermicomposting, which uses worms to break down organic waste, is effective but slow and extremely labour-intensive. In a city generating tons of organic waste daily, this method was not scalable.

That gap between abundant city waste and the agricultural need for nutrient-rich compost became the spark that grew into Prithvi Rakshak, a system designed to convert organic waste into high-quality vermicompost through automation, real-time monitoring, and a community-centred approach.

From Science Project to Deployable System

When the team entered Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, their idea had strong scientific foundations but lacked defined users, measurable impact points, and a pathway to real-world deployment. The program helped them bridge those gaps.

Through repeated mentor sessions and boot camps, they were asked questions that pushed their thinking in a new direction: Who exactly will use this? How will we measure success? Can this run outside a controlled school environment?

Unlike many sustainability apps that rely on behaviour-based gamification, Prithvi Rakshak takes a more grounded path. The system uses technology to simplify composting so much that even non-technical users can adopt it without hesitation. The solution works through three integrated components: The engagement here comes from empowerment, not entertainment. By simplifying composting through live guidance, the team ensures that users stay committed to eco-friendly habits without needing reward points or badges. The technology works with them side-by-side; sustainable behaviour becomes natural. At Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, the team also introduced data-driven metrics such as kilograms of waste processed per month, number of compost cycles per year, vermiwash output, and potential revenue streams from selling vermicompost and vermisticks. The program also encouraged the team to step outside their school setting and talk to real stakeholders. This led them to engage with MC Ludhiana and experts at PAU to explore what a municipal-scale pilot might look like. Through this process, their innovation shifted from "a good science project" to a feasible, scalable solution ready for real deployment.

Guidance That Transformed Vision Into a City-Ready Model

Two mentors played an important role in shaping Prithvi Rakshak, and the guidance from Samsung proved especially transformative. Mohan Lal, the Samsung mentor, became the anchor of the team’s practical thinking. He pushed the students to examine every aspect of real-world development, encouraging them to consider how the system would function in India’s climate, what the team would do if sensors failed, how much each unit would cost, and where the revenue would come from. His questions reshaped the project’s foundation and led the students to introduce modular bins, strengthen their revenue model, and focus their pitch on operational feasibility. His mentorship ultimately helped the team see their idea not simply as an innovation but as a solution ready for implementation. Jawaad Khan from FIIT at IIT Delhi also provided meaningful guidance by helping the students shift from purely scientific explanations to a user-centred story. Together, the mentors elevated Prithvi Rakshak from an early concept into a model defined by clarity, cost understanding, risk preparedness, and long-term scalability, with Samsung’s mentorship playing the most decisive role in strengthening its real-world potential.

A New Perspective on Climate Action

For the Prithvi Rakshak team, becoming finalists in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow was a defining milestone. It transformed their understanding of what young innovators can achieve. The program showed them that technological solutions to environmental challenges do not need to remain small or experimental. With the right guidance, they can become tools capable of reshaping how cities handle waste. The experience gave the team confidence and direction. It pushed them to think bigger, design with scale in mind, and focus on long-term sustainability rather than one-off prototypes. Now, their vision is clearer than ever: to develop automated vermicomposting units and complete waste-to-soil ecosystems that communities across India can adopt easily and affordably. Their journey demonstrates that meaningful climate action does not require dramatic gestures. Sometimes it begins with a simple observation and grows into a solution that reconnects city waste with the soil that feeds us all.

About Samsung Solve for Tomorrow

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a global competition that empowers students to address real-world challenges in their communities through STEM. By fostering creativity and critical thinking, the program encourages students to innovate and develop impactful solutions to local and global issues.

Through hands-on projects, participants gain the skills and confidence to tackle complex problems, transforming their ideas into actionable solutions. The program nurtures the next generation of leaders while strengthening the global community by connecting young minds across borders to share knowledge and inspire collective progress.

To learn more, visit https://csr.samsung.com/en/program/samsung-solve-for-tomorrow