PM Modi to address grand finale of Smart India Hackathon on Saturday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon on Saturday via video conferencing and also interact with students on the occasion, according to an official statement.

The hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems people face in daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving, it said.

"It has proved to be extremely successful in promoting out-of-the-box thinking in young minds," the statement said.

The first edition of Smart India Hackathon in 2017 saw participation of 42,000 students which increased to 1 lakh in 2018 and to 2 lakh in 2019. The first round of Smart India Hackathon 2020 saw participation of more than 4.5 lakh students.

"The grand finale of the software edition this year is being organized online by connecting all the participants throughout the nation over a specially-built advanced platform. More than 10,000 students will be competing to solve 243 problem statements from 37 central government departments, 17 state governments and 20 industries," the statement said.