Students are the drivers of Viksit Bharat and their innovation and zeal can find solutions to the challenges of the world, said Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan while virtually inaugurating the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024 today.

He highlighted that the talent, vision, hard work, leadership and innovation of the youth of the country would pave the way for India to emerge as a 21st-century knowledge economy, a development model for emerging economies, as well as the growth engine of the world.

During his address at the event, Pradhan expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inspiring the vision of SIH, which,
he said, had become a hotspot of innovation and creativity where students from across the country put their minds to find solutions to
contemporary challenges.

Union Minister of State for Education and Development of the North Eastern Region Dr. Sukanta Majumdar was present at the inauguration as were the Secretary, Ministry of Education, Sanjay Kumar; Chairperson NETF, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe; Vice Chairman, AICTE, Dr. Abhay Jere, among other officials.

Chairman, AICTE, Prof. T G Sitharam and other academicians, students and mentors joined virtually from various centres spread across the country. The Hackathon is taking place in 51 such centres concurrently.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Majumdar emphasised how SIH transformed challenges into opportunities, paving the way for young minds to contribute to nation-building. Highlighting the growing participation of women in the hackathon, he noted that this marks a significant step toward inclusivity, with each team consisting of at least one female member.

He remarked that the contribution of women serves as a reminder that gender equality is not merely a goal but a necessity for sustainable progress. He also commended the ministry’s Innovation Cell for fostering an ecosystem for innovators. He stated that it is empowering students to transform ideas into impactful realities, promoting entrepreneurship, and advancing a culture of self-reliance.

Sanjay Kumar emphasised how the concept of innovation has firmly taken root in our minds and the culture of educational institutions. He also highlighted that SIH provides an opportunity to transcend individual brilliance and harness the power of collectivism, as students collaboratively and creatively develop solutions to problems. Reiterating Mr Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he underscored that the idea also encompasses self-reliance in thought.

In line with the prime minister’s vision of youth-led development, the SIH is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve the pressing problems of Ministries and Departments of the Government, industries and other organizations. Launched in 2017, it has gained massive popularity among young innovators. In the last six editions, innovative solutions have emerged in different domains and stand out as established startups.

The 7th edition of the SIH has begun concurrently at 51 centres nationwide today. The Software Edition will run nonstop for 36 hours and the Hardware Edition will continue from 11th to 15th December. Like past editions, the student teams will work on either the problem statements given by the Ministries/Departments/Industries or submit their ideas in the Student Innovation Category against any of the 17 themes linked to sectors of national importance and national priorities. These are Healthcare, Supply chain & Logistics, Smart Technologies, Heritage & Culture, Sustainability, Education & Skill Development, Water, Agriculture & Food, Emerging Technologies, and Disaster Management.

Some of the interesting problem statements of this year’s edition include ‘Enhancing Images of Darker Regions on the Moon’ presented by ISRO, ‘Developing a real-time Ganga Water Quality Monitoring system using AI, satellite data, IoT, and dynamic models’ presented by Ministry of Jal Shakti, and ‘Developing a Smart Yoga Mat integrated with AI’ presented by Ministry of AYUSH.

This year, more than 250 problem statements have been submitted by 54 Ministries, Departments, State Governments, PSUs, and Industries. An impressive 150 per cent increase has been recorded in internal hackathons at the institute level, growing from over 900 in SIH 2023 to over 2247 in SIH 2024, making this the largest edition so far. More than 86000 teams have participated in SIH 2024 at the institute level and around 49,000 student teams (each consisting of 6 students and 2 mentors) have been recommended by these institutes for the national level round.