9-year-old Kashmir kid invents 'Counting Pen'

Nine-year-old Muzaffar Ahmad Khan from Gurez valley of the state has invented a 'counting pen' that while writing, keeps a count of the number of words written.

"It is a pen with a casing attached to its rear. Once someone starts writing, it keeps a track of the word count, which is displayed on a small LCD monitor attached to it. It (the word count) can also be displayed on one's mobile phone through a message," says Muzaffar.

Muzaffar says the idea of counting pen struck his mind when he got low marks in an exam as he could not manage the prerequisite word count.

"In my last exam, I got minimum marks as I wrote fewer words. It made me restless and from that very time, I started thinking of inventing something which can save my time and finally 'counting pen' struck my mind," he says.

A prototype of the pen has been kept on display at the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, organized by National Innovation Foundation (NIF), an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

At the festival, President Ram Nath Kovind heaped words of appreciation and rewarded young Muzaffar for his innovation.

The pen is supposed to help students during their exams when they have to maintain a word count of essays and long-form questions. Muzaffar says the counting pen will be available in the market in May as NIF has already decided to make it commercially available.