PM Modi lauds innovators at NIT Srinagar event

Srinagar, Dec 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday lauded the innovators at the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) including the SIH team at NIT Srinagar through video conferencing.

Interacting with young innovators during the 7th edition of the grand finale of the 7th edition of Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024, including the SIH team at NIT Srinagar, via video conferencing mode, the PM lauded the innovators.

For the first time, NIT Srinagar is hosting the grand finale, which commenced on Wednesday as one of 51 centers across the nation.

During the event, the SIH team from BMS Institute of Technology, Bangalore, led by Syeeda Aiemen D Saleem, shared their project ideas with PM Modi.

The PM also interacted with Muhammad Ali Muhammad Al, a participant from Yemen and praised the culture and diversity of India.

Over 1300 student teams participated in this nationwide event.

Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, virtually inaugurated the SIH 2024, highlighting the transformative power of education in fostering innovation and building a self-reliant India.

Director NIT Srinagar, Prof Binod Kumar Kanojiya, the chief guest on the occasion, stressed the institute’s commitment to excellence.

He underscored the importance of SIH in bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world problem-solving.

“The institute is dedicated to nurturing a culture of innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and preparing students for a technology-driven future,” Prof Kanojiya said.

Chairman of the Core Committee for SIH 2024, Prof G A Harmain said that it was the first time that NIT Srinagar was hosting the grand finale of SIH Software Edition.

He welcomed 25 exceptional teams from 21 states, emphasising their potential to shape the country’s future through technology and creativity.

Nodal Head 1 for SIH, Pratap Sanap provided an overview of the hackathon, highlighting its role in fostering innovation and collaboration.

Registrar of NIT Srinagar, Prof Atikur Rahman presented the vote of thanks.

“As one of the 51 nodal centres, NIT Srinagar has emerged as a hub for innovation, hosting 25 teams to develop real-world solutions. The institute is known for its academic excellence and state-of-the-art facilities,” Prof Rahman said.

The inaugural ceremony at NIT Srinagar featured a traditional lamp lighting and Isbandh ceremony, symbolising knowledge and purity, and followed by welcome by Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Janani L.

Earlier, the event began with a welcome address by the Vice Chairman of AICTE and Chief Innovation Officer at the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, Abhay Jere.

Chairman of AICTE, Prof T G Sitharam emphasised the council’s vision for promoting educational excellence.

This year’s edition of SIH has seen a remarkable 240 percent increase in internal hackathons, growing from 900 in 2023 to over 2247 in 2024, making it the largest edition to date.

More than 86,000 teams participated at the institute level, with around 49,000 advancing to the national-level rounds.

The hackathon addressed 250 problem statements submitted by 54 ministries, departments, state governments, PSUs, and industries.

These challenges spanned 17 sectors of national importance, including healthcare, sustainability, smart technologies, education, disaster management, and agriculture.

PM interacts with Sayeeda, Ali from ‘Big Brains Team’

The Prime Minister interacted with Sayeeda from the ‘Big Brains Team’ from nodal centre NIT, Srinagar, who worked on a problem statement of building a tool called ‘Virtual Reality Friend’ from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which would cater to children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability.

She said that the children would use the tool as an interactive skills enhancer which will act as a ‘friend’ to such Divyangjan who can use it on their smartphones and laptops.

Sayeeda said that it is an AI-powered Virtual reality solution which would assist them in their day-to-day activities like learning the language or conversing with people.

Upon enquiring about the impact of the tool on the social life of Divyang children by PM Modi, she said they would be able to learn what is right or wrong during their social interaction and how to approach people with the help of the tool in a simulative environment which could be then applied in real life.

Sayeeda informed the PM that her 6-member team was diverse in terms of technical knowledge and geographical location including a member who is non-Indian.

PM Modi enquired whether any of the team members had interacted with children with special needs to understand their difficulties, to which Sayeeda replied that one of the team member’s relatives was suffering from autism and they had also interacted with centres dealing with children affected by autism to address their challenges.

Another team member of the ‘Big Brains Team’, Muhammed Ali, a student from Yemen, pursuing his Bachelors in Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering thanked the PM and the Government for a great initiative like Smart India Hackathon.

He invited international students to be a part of such great initiatives in times to come.

The PM congratulated and thanked the team for understanding the needs and difficulties of Divyang Children and every child had the right to grow and prosper and nobody was left behind in the society.

He said that new solutions would be necessary to overcome such challenges and that their solution would be helpful to lakhs of children and although the solution was being developed locally, it would be needed at the global level too and its impact would be global.

PM Modi highlighted that solutions which would fit the needs of India would suffice the needs of any country in the globe.

He congratulated the entire team for their novel efforts.