Modi during an interaction with students (Twitter @AICTE)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon 2020 on August 1 at 4:30 pm. The PM tweeted from his personal handle, “Young India is filled with talent! The grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon 2020 showcases this very spirit of innovation and excellence. On 1st August at 4:30 PM, looking forward to interacting with the finalists of the Hackathon and knowing more about their works. (sic)”
Replying to his tweet, the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank wrote in Hindi which can be roughly translated as – I hope that in Smart India Hackathon 2020, students will get enriched with new energy thanks to your guidance.
कोरोना संकट के समय आपके सक्षम नेतृत्व में भारत ने दुनिया को एक नई राह दिखाई है। हमारे युवा भी अपने शोध एवं अनुसंधान के बल पर कोविड संकट के दौरान एवं उसके बाद भी न सिर्फ आत्मनिर्भर भारत की नींव रखेंगे अपितु पूरी दुनिया को नए भारत का परिचय देंगे। https://t.co/hX6PDSp5Bs
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 31, 2020
This year, over 4.5 lakh entries had flown in for the hackathon. A huge leap from 50,000 applications in 2017. Themes or areas in which innovative solutions were invited for this year’s competition included robotics and drones, waste management, clean water, renewable energy, miscellaneous, smart communication, healthcare and biomedical devices among others.
The hackathons began in 2017. These hackathons are organised by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) as a nationwide competition where students provide solutions to some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives.