Satyam Mehta, Student of Class XII Amity Noida bags The Diana Award 2021
We live in a world where technology empowers every section of society alike – be it in the urban or rural milieu. However, it takes strong initiative and dedication to make a difference. At an impressionable age Mr Satyam Mehta, a student of class XII from Amity International School, Noida has displayed exceptional rigor to trigger a tangible change.
Satyam Mehta is the recipient of the Diana Award 2021 (https://diana-award.org.uk/), the most prestigious accolade a young person aged 9-25 years can receive for their social action or humanitarian work. He received the award for taking up socio-entrepreneurial initiatives for the betterment of society. The Diana Award is the longest-running award for young people given to individuals and groups through a retrospective nomination process only. Established in the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.
Satyam launched his app Rural Invest (www.ruralinvest.in) to leverage the power of finance to empower and enable users to invest money through SIPs in various asset classes strategically. In India, 70% of the rural population is employed in rain-dependent agrarian occupations, with a fifth of them earning under $17/month. Little or no financial literacy makes them vulnerable. The only source of credit for these desperate farmers are unorganized moneylenders – charging exorbitant interest rates, subsequently trapping them into vicious debt cycles. The capricious nature of agriculture, meager savings, and crushing debt, is the reason behind an appalling farmer suicide rate of 28 per day. To solve this, Satyam started Rural Invest App which is comprehensive wealth management app that aims to inculcate the concept of financial literacy in the rural population of India by giving them access to various financial instruments.
Here is the link to Diana Awards roll of honour 2021- https://diana-award.org.uk/roll-of-honour-2021/
Also, download app from the app store- https://apps.apple.com/in/app/rural-invest/id1519181908
or from the play store- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.plutonomic.ruralinvest&hl=en_IN&gl=US
He also submitted his project on management of E waste which was considered for the award. Astounded to hear that almost 75% of India’s E-waste lands up in landfills, Satyam co-founded an initiative for the proper management of E-Waste, JunkGuards (www.junkguards.com). They not only won the National level NYS Leadership League but also received investments worth Rs. 2,00,000 from the Foundation of Young Innovators, Essel Group, and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE).
Another project considered for the Diana Award was PravahKriti (www.pravahkriti.com), which is a social cause at Amity International School, Noida taken up by Satyam which aims to promote better menstrual health and hygiene management among females of various ages across all sections of society. He aims to promote period positivity and raise awareness amongst not only women but also men. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of FlyUp (www.letsflyup.com),a student-formed organization that plans to encourage Entrepreneurship in youngsters by providing them opportunities such as Entrepreneurship Clubs, Global Student Community, Pitching Opportunities, and Mentorship.
He has been also accepted to the MIT Launch X program 2021, one of the most prestigious high school programs, where one can learn from industry experts, as well as build real products and solve business challenges in viable ways. Currently, he is a member of the core Student Council and the Cyber Captain of his school. Satyam also received the title of Covid Warrior by Amity International School Noida for making and distributing 3D printed face-shields in his community during the pandemic.
According to Dr. Mrs. Amita Chauhan, Chairperson, AMITY SCHOOLS, who believes that education is a powerful weapon to bring changes in the social and economic milieu by compassionate and empathetic youth, Satyam has taken steps to combat various problems and spread awareness about them to make the world an empathetic place to live and has made his school as well as country proud.