New Delhi, Sep 25 Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday urged the youth to combine the spirit of “seva” with innovation to identify real-life challenges and develop practical and scalable solutions.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Seva First Innovation Challenge (SFIC) for the South Zone at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
“Seva (service) must find expression in action. Understanding a problem and finding an innovative solution to address it at scale is an important expression of service,” he said.
Highlighting India’s demographic dividend, Joshi noted that nearly 65 per cent of India’s population was below the age of 35. India has a generation that is curious, confident, and comfortable with technology, he said, adding that the country has a responsibility to give young people opportunities to turn that curiosity into useful action.
“The new National Education Policy-2020 places critical thinking, creativity, experiential learning and problem-solving at the heart of education. This vision is now being translated into opportunities for students to experiment, build and innovate from an early age,” he said.
The minister said innovation guided by the spirit of seva could contribute meaningfully to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
He further called upon start-ups and industry partners to engage with young innovators emerging from the Seva First Innovation Challenge and encourage the creation of a national repository through the SFIC website to support future mentoring, adoption, and scaling of promising solutions.
IISc Bengaluru will serve as the South Zone Nodal Institute, supporting technical evaluation and mentorship across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
The challenge will focus on five themes: ‘Clean and Sustainable Bharat’; ‘Prosperous Farmers, Prosperous Bharat’; ‘Healthy and Inclusive Bharat’; ‘Educated and Skilled Bharat’ and ‘Secure Bharat’.
Registration for the event is 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.
The event is being organised jointly by the Union Education Ministry, the All India Council for Technical Education, and the University Grants Commission, with IISc Bengaluru serving as the nodal institute.
(PTI News)
