PM Modi addresses grand finale of Smart India Hackathon 2020
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students during the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon via video conferencing on Saturday.
The Smart India Hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve problems people face in daily lives.
Around 42,000 students participated in the first edition of hackathon which increased to 1 lakh in 2018 and to 2 lakh in 2019. While the first round of Smart India Hackathon 2020 saw participation of more than 4.5 lakh students.
After interacting with students, PM Modi also talked about the new education policy (NEP) 2020. He said, the NEP will convert job seekers into job creators. He gave a mantra to students and said, “never stop three things in life – learning, questioning and solving.”
The Smart India Hackathon began at 9 am when the HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurated it. Each winning team across the themes will get Rs 1 lakh. In the hackathon, candidates were to create solutions for real-world problems.
“To give a better life and ease of living to the poor and economically weaker section of the society, the youth has played an important role. I believe that there is no challenge that our youth cannot solve,” said the PM.
“I have always believed in the youth of the country. When the demand for face shields grew suddenly, the youth used 3D printers and fulfilled the need. India's youth is the energy of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat, further added PM Modi.
Talking about the flexibility for students he said, “Our focus is on what student wants to learn rather than what society expects from you. In the NEP, flexibility has been given great importance. There are provisions of multiple entries and exits. It will not be a one way street for students. Such flexibility was long needed in our education system. I am happy that NEP could work on this aspect.”
