US$9,500 international grant
Mercatus Center at George Mason University — to develop TS-GLDC, a ₹50 electricity-free LPG leak-detection tape
See the grant
NOW IN INCUBATION
GridSphere selected for startup incubation at CIIC, NIT Jamshedpur
See the project run
Youngest awardee in the history of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow India Chapter
Read more
Introducing Akshat
Systems beyond demos
The Student Who Ships Microgrids, Machine Vision & Edge AI
October 2026
US$9,500
Emergent Ventures grant
01b — Externally funded research
Funded by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Awarded to develop TS-GLDC — a ₹50 safety tape that detects an LPG leak with no battery, no sensor and no mains power. It is the first externally funded piece of the portfolio.
- ProgrammeEmergent Ventures, Mercatus Center
- InstitutionGeorge Mason University
- ProjectTS-GLDC · also INSPIRE MANAK, DST & NIF India
- Covered byThe Times of India, News18, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Prabhat Khabar
01c — About
About Akshat Sarkar
Akshat Sarkar (अक्षत सरकार) is a Class 9 student at Gulmohur High School in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. He works on AI, robotics and edge systems.
He created TS-GLDC, an electricity-free LPG leak detection tape. It received a US$9,500 Emergent Ventures grant from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in 2026, and was an INSPIRE MANAK 2025 National Awardee (DST and NIF India).
His smart-microgrid project GridSphere is incubated at CIIC, NIT Jamshedpur. He worked with the CoE in Advanced Manufacturing Technology at IIT Kharagpur on machine vision for PCB inspection.
His other recognition includes 1st Place, Junior Category, at Amazon AWS Innovate X (2026); 5th Rank at Rhapsody 4.0, IISc Bengaluru (2026); and Top 40 at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow India 2026.
His work has been covered by The Times of India, News18 Hindi, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Prabhat Khabar and Moneycontrol.
Frequently asked
- Who is Akshat Sarkar?
- Akshat Sarkar (अक्षत सरकार) is a Class 9 student at Gulmohur High School in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. He works on AI, robotics and edge systems.
- What is TS-GLDC?
- TS-GLDC is an electricity-free LPG leak detection tape created by Akshat Sarkar. It received a US$9,500 Emergent Ventures grant from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in 2026 and was an INSPIRE MANAK 2025 National Awardee (DST and NIF India).
- What awards has Akshat Sarkar won?
- For TS-GLDC he received the US$9,500 Emergent Ventures grant (2026) and the INSPIRE MANAK 2025 National Award (DST and NIF India). He also took 1st Place, Junior Category, at Amazon AWS Innovate X (2026), 5th Rank at Rhapsody 4.0, IISc Bengaluru (2026), and Top 40 at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow India 2026.
- Where is Akshat Sarkar from?
- He is from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, where he is a Class 9 student at Gulmohur High School.
01d — The hundredth
100
Born on the day Sachin Tendulkar scored his hundredth century.
100 international centuries.
02 — The stack, as an operating system
Seven languages. One desktop.
Every language gets its own window. Drag them, stack them, tile them. Each carries its version and the libraries, runtimes and toolchains Akshat works with inside it.
AS.OS/1
04 — Dependency graph
Everything connects to something.
A live force simulation of the stack. Languages are the heavy nodes; libraries orbit them. Grab any node and pull.
Hover a node to inspect it.
Technology Treated As A Systems Problem
Not a demo
His projects seek not merely to demonstrate a technology.
A systems problem
Resource distribution, operational efficiency, reliability, sustainability and automation.
[B.64]
10
Engineering projects, 2024 to 2026
10
National and international recognitions
07
Languages and runtimes in the core stack
01
Startup incubation at CIIC, NIT Jamshedpur
Seven Languages, Ten Builds.
*Based on the 2024–2026 project portfolio (Proof)
Build Log
Waiting for scroll …
07 — Reach
From Jamshedpur, Outward.
Built in Jharkhand, recognised from Mumbai and Bengaluru to Kharagpur and New Delhi — and funded from Virginia.
08 — The press run
Ten projects,
Ten projects,
one sheet at a time.
Ten wins. Three years.
Youngest awardee in the history of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow India Chapter.Kinexa · Top 40 · Samsung Solve for Tomorrow India 2026
In the news.
- News18 Hindi ₹50 में LPG गैस लीकेज रोकने का मिला आइडिया, जमशेदपुर के 9वीं के छात्र अक्षत का कमाल, अमेरिका से मिला ₹9 लाख का ग्रांट
- The Times of India Class 9 student wins $9500 int'l grant to develop gas leak detection tape
- Prabhat Khabar जमशेदपुर के नौवीं के छात्र का कमाल, 50 रुपये की सेफ्टी टेप के आइडिया पर मिला 9500 डॉलर का अंतरराष्ट्रीय ग्रांट
- Hindustan युवा इनोवेटर अक्षत सरकार को 9,500 डॉलर का अंतरराष्ट्रीय ग्रांट
- Lok Alok News 50 रुपये में गैस लीकेज पहचानने वाली सेफ्टी टेप बनाई, छात्र अक्षत सरकार को मिला 9,500 डॉलर का अंतरराष्ट्रीय ग्रांट
- Amar Ujala झारखंड: एलपीजी सेफ्टी टेप विकसित करने पर छात्र अक्षत को मिली अंतरराष्ट्रीय ग्रांट
- Ranchi Express गुलमोहर हाई स्कूल के युवा इनोवेटर अक्षत सरकार को मिला $9,500 का अंतरराष्ट्रीय ग्रांट
- Hindustan टेल्को के अक्षत ने बनाया ई-कॉमर्स फ्रॉड रोकने का एआई मॉडल, मिला प्रथम पुरस्कार
- Moneycontrol With 5th rank, Class 9 Jharkhand student beats IIT, NIT contenders at IISc coding competition
- The Avenue Mail Jamshedpur Student Wins First Prize at America's Largest AI Fest, Amazon AWS Innovate X
- The Avenue Mail Gulmohur School Jamshedpur's young coder triumphs at India's Biggest Design Championship
- The Avenue Mail Jamshedpur student's innovative Robobot design wins accolades at IIT Bombay Techfest
- The Avenue Mail Gulmohur High School's young innovators excel at NIT Jamshedpur
- The Avenue Mail Gulmohur School Jamshedpur student stuns with 5th rank among IIT, NIT participants at IISc Coding Event
- The Avenue Mail Jamshedpur student's LPG safety idea earns INSPIRE MANAK Award
From robots on a pitch to a startup pathway.
Relevance to Industrial Engineering & Operations Management
Akshat’s portfolio demonstrates recurring engagement with systems thinking, optimization, resource efficiency, sustainability, risk and reliability, automation, industrial inspection and data-driven decision making.
CarbonRoute addresses multi-objective transportation optimization; GridSphere addresses coordinated energy systems; PCB Inspector links computer vision with industrial inspection and robotics; Aegis Edge explores resilient operational infrastructure.