An Odishan institute that studied open innovation in the context of children’s mental health developed a grading system that will serve as a warning system for parents and medical experts. A female team member at her request also briefed the Prime Minister about the project. The Prime Minister complimented the team for identifying a crucial area and went on to discuss the issue of mental health among the youth. He underlined the significance of the Education Department addressing these problems and looking into ways to expand and implement the solutions that have been found in educational institutions. “Youth mental health is crucial to making India Viksit,” he declared. He informed them of the MY-India portal as well.
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Importance of SIH
- Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a nationwide project that aligns with the Prime Minister’s goal of youth-led development by giving students a forum to tackle urgent problems faced by government ministries and departments, industries, and other organizations. Since its launch in 2017, the Smart India Hackathon has become incredibly well-liked among young entrepreneurs. Innovative solutions that stand out as well-established startups have surfaced in the last five editions across many domains.
- The Grand Finale of SIH will take place this year from December 19–23. 44,000 teams submitted over 50,000 concepts for SIH 2023—nearly seven times as many as for the inaugural SIH competition. At 48 nodal locations across the nation, over 12,000 participants and over 2500 mentors will take part in the grand finale. This year, 1282 teams have made it to the finals, where they will present their solutions on a range of topics, such as robotics and drones, heritage and culture, smart education, space technology, and disaster management.
- The 231 problem statements (176 software and 55 hardware) posted by 51 departments of 25 Union Ministers and State governments will be addressed and solutions provided by the participating teams. The Smart India Hackathon 2023 has a prize pool of over Rs 2 crore, with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh for each problem statement going to the winning team.
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Innovations and PM suggestions
- The Prime Minister emphasized the need to discover ways to integrate artificial intelligence and the power industry because both are vital to Viksit Bharat and will play a significant role in determining India’s future. In addition, he emphasized the importance of monitoring usage and utilizing AI-based solutions to increase efficiency in electricity transmission and production. PM, Modi underlined the government’s focus on small-scale solar plants in agricultural fields and rooftop solar plants in towns, and he advised finding AI solutions for the same. He also highlighted the government’s accomplishment of sending power to every village and household in recent years. He asked them to go to the Northeast as well.
- The Prime Minister recommended seeking oversight and direction from the ISRO team in addition to other space entrepreneurs operating in the nation. The Prime Minister stated that with the accomplishment of Chandrayan 3, India’s space program has become a beacon of hope for the globe and has altered the perception of India among other countries. He emphasized that the current moment is ideal for young people who want to work in India’s space industry because the industry has opened up to the private sector, which would allow young people to thrive. He also suggested that they visit the IN-SPACe headquarters in Ahmedabad and highlighted that ISRO was offering its facilities to modern companies.
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Transforming India
The Prime Minister restated that the young innovators’ formative years in India will occur during the next 25 years of Amrit Kaal. He emphasized that all of India’s goals should be to become self-sufficient and to stop importing new things and relying on other countries. Using the defense industry as an example, which is striving for self-sufficiency, he made the case that India must import some defense technologies. In addition, he emphasized the significance of independence in semiconductor and chip technologies. Additionally, PM Modi emphasized India’s lofty goals in the fields of quantum technology and hydrogen energy. According to him, the government is placing a high priority on each of these industries by developing a cutting-edge 21st-century ecosystem, but the success of this ecosystem rests on the success of youth
