The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 5 day Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2018 – Hardware edition through Video conferencing in New Delhi today. Shri R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, MHRD was also present on the occasion.Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the Smart India Hackathon 2018 is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and is proving to be an important vehicle for scouting new ideas and help convert them into products and businesses. The Minister said that it is our priority to create a conducive environment for innovation and research as prosperity and development of any country is incomplete without it. He further said that Government is encouraging the opportunities for successful innovation experiments as these are important for economic growth and welfare. It is a chance for the students to convert their innovative ideas into various products and eventually help them in their Startup initiatives.
He also wished the all success to the participants of Hardware Hackathon and assured them that this endeavor will be carried forward to a logical end.Hardware edition is the first of its kind innovative initiative by Ministry of HRD to provide national platform to young technical minds of India to showcase their disruptive innovations and creative products which can bring out revolutionary changes in crucial sectors like agriculture, health, clean water, waste management, automotive, smart communication, and education. The Hardware edition is the sub-edition of SIH2018.The Grand Finale of the Hardware Hackathon will be a 5 days event and will take place simultaneously at 10 prestigious institutions (Nodal centers) across India - IIT Kanpur (Drones theme), IIT Kharagpur (Agriculture theme), IIT Guwahati (Rural Technology theme), CEERI Pilani (Smart Communication theme), CSIO Chandigarh (Healthcare theme), IISc Bengaluru (Smart Vehicles theme), IIT Roorkee (Clean water theme), NIT Trichy (Waste Management theme), COEP Pune (Security theme), and Forge Coimbatore (Import Substitution theme).