When Narendra Modi took over as the PM, he came with a vision to make India strong through self-reliance riding on the back of a strong manufacturing base. And the ‘Make in India’ (MII) initiative was born. The MII ‘Hackathon’ is being organized at IIT Mumbai from 10 to 16 February, 2016. The programme schedule is as follows:
10-12 February 2016
- Pre-Hackathon tutorials and workshops
13-14 February 2016
- Make in India Hackathon
15 February 2016
- Announcement of results
16 February 2016
- Hackathon finale: Presentation by 6 winners (2 winners from each theme)
Aim of the Hackathon
As part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, ‘Hackathon’ aims to encourage the engineering talent to showcase knowledge application in design, innovation and sustainability, covering areas that solve people problems through sustainable and cost-effective business models.
Hackathon is open to all engineering students who can submit their innovative ideas, design and solutions in any of the three major theme areas identified.
Themes for the Hackathon
Water
Save water: With monsoon rain becoming increasingly unpredictable and population growing at a rapid pace, water shortage is increasingly becoming a major problem. Water pollution is yet another area impacting water availability. Urgent cost-effective solutions are needed on:
- How to save water?
- How to optimize usage of water?
- How to purify and recycle water for maximum usage?
- How to build sustainable urban living spaces by integrating water usage optimization?
Save from water: If water scarcity is a problem for some areas in India, then excess water resulting in devastating floods is a major concern for many other areas. The Hackathon is looking for ideas that will provide solutions for:
- Flood water prediction and monitoring
- Flood water control
- Flood water drainage
Transportation
With rapidly growing number of two and four wheeler vehicles fighting for space on roads with pedestrians, cyclists, rickshaws, public and goods transport vehicles; the need for efficient traffic management and planning solutions has become imperative. Hackathon is searching for efficient solutions in road design and traffic management that can allow all users fair opportunity to use the available road space efficiently and without much disruption.
Energy
The demand for energy is outpacing supply, thereby putting tremendous pressure on the existing system that produces and distributes electricity. The Hackathon is looking for solutions that will reduce the usage of energy by implementing intelligent and sustainable technology that will minimize unnecessary consumption, re-distribute energy where required, adjust energy consumption levels as per need and time of usage, store excess energy during off-peak hours, and increase usage of renewable energy.
Who can participate?
Students of engineering or any science college, above the age of 17 years, and who present their idea as a team of minimum two members and not exceeding four. Individual students cannot participate. Students from different colleges can collaborate and come together as a team. There is no registration fee.
Registrations begin on 12 January and close on 14 January 2016. All selected participants will be sent a confirmation mail by 16 January 2016.
All selected teams, not exceeding four, will be provided free accommodation and food for the entire duration of the Hackathon in and around the IIT Mumbai campus.
For further details, you may contact:
Make in India Week, 13 – 18 February, 2016
Venue: Make in India Centre, MMRDA Grounds BKC, Mumbai
The ‘Make in India Week’ will coincide with the ‘Hackathon’ at IIT Mumbai. The aim of organizing the week is to showcase, connect and collaborate with leading industry experts and executives from leading firms that plan to participate and promote ‘Make in India’.
The six-day event will witness country exhibitions, state exhibitions, 10 sector exhibitions, 22 sector seminars, B2B, B2G and G2G meetings, along with collateral events and art & cultural shows.The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate both ‘Make in India Week’ and the ‘Hackathon’, and will be accompanied by a senior team of sector specific government officials to facilitate the event.
Why ‘Make in India’ is crucial for both Modi and India?
When PM Modi took over as PM, India was in the midst of a global slowdown and government bureaucracy under the previous regime was beset with its own set of problems of policy paralysis. PM Modi set upon himself to build a vision and roadmap for the next five years that will set India on a course to becoming a developed nation by 2030.
Crucial to that vision was making India a strong manufacturing base that was built on Indian innovation and research. Till that stage was reached, it was imperative to seek the best technology available globally and encourage manufacturing in India through joint ventures. He set about freeing the bureaucracy with age-old procedures and laws, while encouraging initiative and dynamic response to emerging situations. Make in India initiative is crucial for India to take advantage of its low cost manufacturing ability and develop sustainable solutions that solve basic but urgent problems in India that is also relevant for the developing world.
‘Hackathon’ is a major initiative to encourage and involve the engineering talent to come forward to design, innovate and collaborate in focus areas. PM Modi’s reputation as a pro-active PM is at stake and if this initiative proves successful, it will open India’s floodgates to innovation and research. The coming month will be crucial for both the PM and India.
Massive fire breaks out at Make in India event in Mumbai
A massive fire engulfed the entire stage at a mega cultural event being held as part of Make in India event in Mumbai, this evening. All the VVIPs of the state of Maharashtra were present at the high-profile event. The Governor, the CM and several other MPs and Ministers were safely evacuated.
Apart from political who’s who of Maharashtra, the world-class event was being attended by Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Hema Malini and several other Bollywood icons. The stage was set-up at Girgaum Chowpatty, Mumbai, after special permission was taken from the Supreme Court of India. No injuries have been reported so far. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been in touch with the CM of Maharashtra and investigations have started to find out the cause of the fire.
