‘Smart India Hackathon’ to bring together 26 Central, 6 state Ministries

NEW DELHI — Smart India Hackathon (SIH), a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell and the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), has secured the involvement of 26 Central and six state Ministries, as well as four industry partners.

With an impressive array of 239 problem statements, SIH 2023 is a true testament to collaborative innovation, the Education Ministry said.

Higher Education Secretary  K. Sanjay Murthy (IAS) said that it was a great honour to host the UNESCO India–Africa Hackathon, wherein 22 African countries participated and Indian students got the opportunity to work with the teams of African countries on the problem statement that were pertaining to that continent.

He also mentioned that two weeks ago, a KAVACH Hackathon was organised in association with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the theme of cyber security and there are many challenges that are anchored by AICTE through such Hackathons.

Chairman of AICTE, Prof. T.G. Sitharam, emphasised the importance of innovation in shaping the future and said that the future is built on innovation.

With a network of more than 7,500 Innovation Institutes spanning the country, the SIH presents participants with an extraordinary opportunity to address problem statements emanating from diverse government bodies and ministries.

This is poised to ignite unconventional solutions and novel viewpoints, he added.

Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman of AICTE, highlighted the comprehensive nature of SIH platform, which provides the chance to include a wide spectrum of themes, spanning from agriculture and health tech to transportation.

The themes of SIH 2023 encompass a wide spectrum of societal needs.

The themes are Agriculture, FoodTech and Rural Development; Blockchain and Cybersecurity; Clean and Green Technology; Disaster Management; Fitness and Sports; Heritage and Culture; MedTech/BioTech/HealthTech; Miscellaneous; Renewable/ Sustainable Energy; Robotics and Drones; Smart Automation; Smart Education; Smart Vehicles; Transportation & Logistics; Travel and Tourism and Toy.

According to the Ministry, a challenge in the field of cyber security and threat assessment is given by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) to develop a Ransomware Readiness Assessment tool towards stopping/mitigating threats from ransomware attacks.

The last date for idea submission for senior SIH is September 30, whereas for Junior SIH, it is October 30.

The tentative dates for the grand finale of Senior SIH and Junior SIH are in the first week of November and January 2024, respectively.

Also read: Modi holds talks with Greek PM, decides to upgrade ties to strategic partnership