No other farm machine of this century has had such a profound effect on a country’s agriculture as the farm tractor.” Farming is a profession of hope, and tractors lie at its very roots. Team KRUSHI is here to strengthen those roots by making farmers’ work trouble-free, simple, and safe. For farmers, Team KRUSHI aims to be a source of practical “enlightenment”: student engineers who listen to field needs, design with empathy, and deliver solutions that truly help. As an interdisciplinary club at RV College of Engineering, Team KRUSHI designs, prototypes, and field-validates affordable agricultural technologies combining hands-on fabrication, systems-level design, and direct engagement with farmers to produce robust, locally serviceable innovations that reduce labour, improve safety, and lower operating costs for smallholder users.
To cultivate passion for agricultural innovation among engineering students and to empower smallholder farmers by developing affordable, durable, and locally serviceable technologies that enhance productivity, safety, and sustainability.
Design, build, and transfer practical agricultural technologies through student-led R&D, industry collaboration, and instrumented field validation — while training members in engineering practice, IP awareness, and community engagement.
Team KRUSHI follows a focused, outcome-driven strategy built around six pillars: Gather, Explore, Transform, Quantify, Execute, Evaluate. The framework ensures every project moves from farmer needs to field-ready solutions through disciplined design, measured testing, and rapid iteration.
The Aerial Lift Platform is a functional, foldable and transportable prototype designed to safely lift an operator to canopy level for spraying and picking. It supports ≥120 kg, uses locally available components for low maintenance, and features simple, worker-friendly controls. The project won Best Outgoing Project (Mech. Dept.), has a patent filed (No. 2017/410/32708), and its paper was shortlisted among the Top-10 at IISc (June 2017).
The Hybrid Tractor System prototype adds an electric-drive assist for high loads, enabling regenerative braking and an “Eco” mode to cut fuel use. Field tests showed >20% diesel savings; the design is modular for retrofitting existing tractor models. The project has a granted patent and represented RVCE at the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Competition (Illinois, USA).
The cycle-mounted sprayer uses a standard bicycle chassis fitted with a 20 L HDPE tank and a 12 V diaphragm pump feeding a multi-nozzle metered boom with quick-release refill. Trials achieved ~0.5 acre/hour coverage (±5% variance), reduced operator effort by 60%, and delivered about 25% fertilizer savings through precise metering
Students interested in joining the club must go through a three-stage selection process.
Round 1 — Written Test
The first stage is a written test designed to assess your basic knowledge, problem-solving ability, and genuine interest in the club’s area of work. Performance in this test determines who gets shortlisted for the next round.
Round 2 — Group Discussion
Shortlisted candidates take part in a group discussion that evaluates communication skills, teamwork, and the ability to express ideas clearly and confidently in a group setting. This round helps us see how well you collaborate and contribute under peer interaction.
Round 3 — One-on-One Interview
Candidates who excel in the group discussion advance to a personal interview focused on understanding motivation, individual interests, and alignment with the club’s mission and values. Final selection is based on enthusiasm, initiative, and a genuine desire to contribute meaningfully to the club’s activities.
Selection is based on enthusiasm, initiative, and a genuine desire to contribute meaningfully to the club’s activities.
Dr . Hemalatha J N – EEE
Dr. Rajkmar G R- ME
Team Krushi holds patents for two major innovations — the Aerial Working Platform for Areca Nut Harvesting and the Development of a Hybrid Agricultural Tractor — recognising the team’s practical contributions to agricultural engineering, operator safety, and sustainable farm mechanisation.
The Aerial Lift Platform project earned the team high departmental honours: Sandeep, Krishna, and Ram Mohan Reddy were awarded the Best Outgoing Project by the Mechanical Engineering Department at RVCE for their work on the lift platform, reflecting the project’s engineering rigour and real-world impact.
At the national level, Saurab Devadiga represented Team Krushi at the Fluid Power Society of India seminar held on 19–20 June 2017 at the IISc Bangalore campus. The team’s paper was selected as one of the Top 10 papers across India, underscoring the technical quality and innovation of their research.
Dr . Hemalatha J N - 9845190304,
Vaibhav Poojari - 8105908526,
Shashank H A - 797531721,
Dr . Hemalatha J N - hemalathajn@rvce.edu.in
Vaibhav Poojari - vaibhavcpoojari.me22@rvce.edu.in
Shashank H A - shashankaha.me22@rvce.edu.in
