New Delhi, Sep 24 Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi will inaugurate the Seva First Innovation Challenge (SFIC) to encourage youth to identify problems they see in their communities and develop solutions that can be tested, improved and taken towards implementation, officials said on Thursday.
The challenge will be inaugurated on Friday at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and will cover five states and three union territories — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
“The challenge will bring together young participants from schools, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnics, colleges and universities. It has three levels of participation — Junior, Technical and Open. School students from Class 6 to Class 12 can participate at the Junior level,” the Ministry of Education said in a statement.
“At this level, students can identify local problems and develop simple working solutions or well-reasoned service and governance ideas. Students from ITIs and polytechnics will focus on hands-on engineering, fabrication, electronics and process solutions, while undergraduate students, postgraduates and research scholars will be expected to demonstrate prototypes or pilots with a credible pathway to deployment,” it added.
The challenge will focus on five national themes — ‘Clean and Sustainable Bharat’; ‘Prosperous Farmers, Prosperous Bharat’; ‘Healthy and Inclusive Bharat’; ‘Educated and Skilled Bharat’ and ‘Secure Bharat’.
Registration for the event will be open from September 25 to October 24, 2026. It will culminate in the National Finale to be held in New Delhi from December 10 to 17, 2026.
“Participants will have access to academic and industry mentorship, laboratories, fabrication facilities, testing support, incubation, seed and pilot funding, field-testing opportunities and guidance on intellectual property protection. Promising solutions can also be connected with Ministries, State Governments, urban and rural local bodies, public sector undertakings and industry for possible adoption,” the statement said.
The challenge is being organised jointly by the Union Education Ministry, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC) with IISc Bengaluru serving as the nodal institute.
(PTI News)
