Smart India Hackathon 2023: PM Modi addresses participants of Grand Finale

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the participants of the Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2023 and addressed them via video conferencing on December 19, 2023. Prime Minister interacted with Soikat Das and Mr Protik Saha from the National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru, Karnataka who worked on the theme of Transportation and Logistics by the Ministry of Coal. They are building an IoT-based system for railway cargo.

PM Modi told them that the Hackathon is a learning opportunity for him too and he is always eager to interact with the participants. Looking at the beaming faces of the participants, the Prime Minister said that their enthusiasm, willpower and desire for nation-building has become the identity of India’s youth power. The team which included students from Bangladesh informed the Prime Minister that they are trying to address the problem of under and overloading of railway coal wagons which leads to losses or fines.

They are using IoT and AI-based technologies for that. The team comprises 6 members 3 each from Bangladesh and India. The Prime Minister expressed the confidence that their effort will benefit Indian railways, which is undergoing a transformative phase.

He informed that logistics is the focus area and hoped that many more students from Bangladesh come to India in future and mentioned that the ‘Study in India ‘ programme will help such students. The output of the project will help determine a safe landing spot and navigation path for future missions. The Prime Minister suggested getting supervision and guidance from the team at ISRO along with various space startups in the country.

The Prime Minister said that India’s space program has become a ray of hope for the world after Chandrayan 3’s success and has changed the outlook of foreign nations towards India. He underlined that the present era is a perfect time period for the youth who wish to contribute towards India’s space sector as he mentioned the space sector being opened up to the private sector for the youth to flourish. He also mentioned ISRO opening up its facilities for new-age startups and suggested they visit IN-SPACe headquarters in Ahmedabad.

Congratulations to the team for picking up an important area, the Prime Minister elaborated on the mental health problem among the young population and emphasized the importance of the Education Department working on such issues and exploring ways to scale up and deploy the discovered solution in educational institutions. “Mental health of the youth is important for making India Viksit”, he said. Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister expressed happiness about the dedication of the young generation to provide solutions for the problems of the country.

He reiterated the success of previous hackathons. Startups and solutions that came out of the previous hackathons are helping both the government and society. Recalling the mantra of 21st century India i.

e. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan, PM Modi said that every Indian is forsaking the inertia of the status quo. Mentioning India’s rise as the third largest economy the Prime Minister talked about India’s UPI success, and vaccine success during the pandemic.

Addressing the young innovators and domain experts, PM Modi reiterated the importance of the current time period that will decide the direction of the next one thousand years. The Prime Minister asked them to understand the uniqueness of the current time as many factors have come together, such as India being one of the youngest countries in the world, its talent pool, stable and strong government, booming economy and unprecedented emphasis on science and technology. The Prime Minister reiterated that the next 25 years of India’s Amrit Kaal will be a defining period for the young innovators.

He underlined the common goal of a self-reliant India and stated the objective of not importing any new and being dependent on other nations. Giving the example of the defence sector which is working towards self-reliance, he pointed out that India is forced to import some defence technologies. He also stressed the need for self-reliance in semiconductor and chip technology.

PM Modi also highlighted India’s high aspirations in the quantum technology and hydrogen energy sectors. He said that the government is giving special emphasis to all such sectors by creating a modern ecosystem of the 21st century, but its success depends on the success of the youth. Expressing trust in the youth power of the nation, the Prime Minister asked them to keep the resolution of Viksit Bharat in mind while finding a solution to any problem.

In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of youth-led development, the Smart India Hackathon (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, the Smart India Hackathon has gained massive popularity among young innovators. .