Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the Smart India Hackathon Grand Finale 2018 -Software edition in New Delhi. He said that Hackathon aims to build Digital India and to engage the youth directly in nation-building. Mr Javdekar said it is intended to promote innovation, out-of-the-box thinking in young minds.
Mr Javadekar said, one lakh students from 1,200 colleges are participating at the world’s largest Hackathon. He said the 36-hour grand finale is being held at 28 centres across the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with participants of Hackathon across various centres through video-conferencing this evening. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, he is eagerly looking forward to this opportunity of engaging with pioneering young innovators.
Our correspondent reports that, the Hackathon aims to harness creativity and expertise of students, build a funnel for – Startup India, Standup India campaign, crowd sources solutions for improving governance. It also gives opportunity to citizens to provide innovative solutions to India’s daunting problems.
The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has been selected to host this edition. The first edition of this event held last year which recorded nearly 40 thousand participants.