Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday called upon the youth to combine the spirit of ‘Seva’ with innovation to identify real-life challenges and develop practical, scalable solutions, saying such efforts would contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Joshi was speaking after inaugurating the Seva First Innovation Challenge (SFIC) for the South Zone at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. He also launched the website and registration portal for the initiative.
“Seva must find expression in action,” Joshi said, adding that understanding a problem and developing an innovative solution that could address it at scale was an important expression of service.
Highlighting India’s demographic dividend, Joshi said nearly 65 per cent of the country’s population was below the age of 35. He said India had a generation that was curious, confident and comfortable with technology, and stressed the need to provide young people with opportunities to turn their curiosity into meaningful action.
Referring to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the minister said critical thinking, creativity, experiential learning and problem-solving had been placed at the heart of education. He said the policy’s vision was being translated into opportunities for students to experiment, build and innovate from an early age.
Joshi also highlighted government efforts to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem through more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, around 17,300 Institutions Innovation Councils and initiatives such as the Smart India Hackathon.
He said innovation guided by the spirit of Seva could make a meaningful contribution to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. He also urged start-ups and industry partners to engage with young innovators emerging from the challenge.
Joshi encouraged the creation of a national repository through the SFIC website to facilitate future mentoring, adoption and scaling of promising solutions. He congratulated IISc Bengaluru, participating institutions, faculty members, start-ups and other stakeholders involved in the initiative.
He said he expected the strongest solutions from across the country to be presented at the National Finale in New Delhi in December 2026.
IISc Bengaluru will serve as the South Zone Nodal Institute and support technical evaluation and mentorship across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
The SFIC will bring together students and young innovators from schools, ITIs, polytechnics, colleges and universities across five national themes — Clean and Sustainable Bharat; Prosperous Farmers, Prosperous Bharat; Healthy and Inclusive Bharat; Educated and Skilled Bharat; and Secure Bharat.
The challenge will have two solution tracks: Track A for product or technology solutions and Track B for business model or governance solutions. It aims to take promising ideas beyond submission through mentoring, incubation and pathways for real-world adoption.
Registration for the challenge will remain open from September 25 to October 24, 2026, with the National Finale scheduled to be held in New Delhi in December 2026.
Director of IISc Bengaluru Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education Anandrao V Patil and University Grants Commission Secretary Prof Shyama Rath, along with directors and representatives of NITs and other institutions, faculty members, industry and start-up representatives, students and young innovators, attended the event.
