Joshi Launches Seva First Innovation Challenge at IISc, Urges Youth to Innovate for Viksit Bharat

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi inaugurated the South Zone edition of the Seva First Innovation Challenge (SFIC) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and launched the initiative's website and registration portal.

Speaking at the event, the Minister urged young people to pair the spirit of service with innovation — identifying real-life challenges and building practical, scalable solutions that contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. He said service must find expression in action, and that understanding a problem and devising an innovative solution to address it at scale is itself an important form of service.

Highlighting India's demographic dividend, Joshi noted that nearly 65 per cent of the country's population is below the age of 35, describing a generation that is curious, confident and comfortable with technology. He said there is a responsibility to give young people opportunities to convert that curiosity into useful action.

On the National Education Policy 2020, the Minister said it places critical thinking, creativity, experiential learning and problem-solving at the heart of education, and that this vision is being translated into opportunities for students to experiment, build and innovate from an early age. He pointed to the government's wider innovation push, including more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, around 17,300 Institutions Innovation Councils and initiatives such as the Smart India Hackathon.

Joshi called on start-ups and industry partners to engage with young innovators emerging from the Challenge, and encouraged the creation of a national repository through the SFIC website to support future mentoring, adoption and scaling of promising solutions. He congratulated IISc Bengaluru, participating institutions, faculty, start-ups and other stakeholders, and said he expected the strongest solutions from across India at the National Finale in New Delhi in December 2026.

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 & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

The Challenge brings 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 — and 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-life adoption.

Registrations will remain open from September 25 to October 24, 2026, with the National Finale scheduled in New Delhi in December 2026.

Director of IISc Bengaluru Prof. Govindan Rangarajan; Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Anandrao V. Patil; and Secretary, University Grants Commission, Prof. Shyama Rath, along with directors and representatives of NITs and other institutions, faculty members, industry and start-up ecosystem representatives, students and young innovators attended the event.