Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday launched the Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025, a nationwide innovation movement aimed at engaging school students across India. Organized by the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and AICTE, the initiative seeks to cultivate a culture of creativity and problem-solving among young learners.
During the launch, Minister Pradhan unveiled the official jingle and logo of the Buildathon. The event was attended by senior officials including Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, DoSEL; Dhirendra Ojha, Principal Director General, PIB; Prof. T G Sitharam, Chairman AICTE; Dr. Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman AICTE; and Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, AIM, NITI Aayog, along with representatives from KVS and NVS.
Speaking at the event, Minister Pradhan said, “The largest-ever school hackathon, Viksit Bharat Buildathon, will strengthen grassroots innovation by encouraging students to ideate and build products on four key themes: Vocal for Local, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Swadeshi, and Samriddhi. This initiative will celebrate student innovations, engineer an innovation renaissance, and position young generations as drivers of Samriddhi, Viksit, and Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
Secretary Sanjay Kumar provided an overview of the Buildathon, emphasizing its role in fostering student creativity and innovation across the country. The Buildathon builds on the success of the School Innovation Marathon 2024, which led to initiatives such as the Student Innovator Programme (SIP), Student Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP), and the filing of patents and startup ventures through Atal Tinkering Labs.
The Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025 will follow a structured timeline:
September 23 – October 6: Student registration on the official portal (https://vbb.mic.gov.in)
October 6 – October 13: Schools prepare student teams under teacher guidance
October 13: Live Synchronized Innovation Event
October 13 – October 31: Submission of final entries
November 1 – December 31: Expert evaluation of submissions
January 2026: Announcement of results and felicitation of the top 1,000+ winners
The Buildathon aims to inspire creative thinking for national development, promote self-reliance and sustainable growth, and project India as a global innovation capital through a potential world record in school-level innovation participation.
A promotional video screened during the launch highlighted the Buildathon’s themes, objectives, and its vision of empowering young problem-solvers to contribute meaningfully to India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat.