Dr. Arshed Iqbal Dar
Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to be the part of innovations and contribute for the betterment of nation in general and humanity in particular by solving some of grave issues raised by the different organizations/ministries of various departments. In this backdrop, a collaborative initiative between the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has been set in motion to inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem solving among the youth who are supposed to be the agents of change.
The themes for SIH 2023 encompass a wide array of societal needs, including Agriculture, food tech and rural Development, Blockchain and cybersecurity, Clean & Green Technology, Disaster Management, Fitness and sports, Heritage and culture, MedTech / BioTech / HealthTech, Renewable / Sustainable Energy, Robotics and Drones, Smart Education, Smart Vehicles, Transportation & Logistics, and more.
You know, business organizations are quickly adapting to meet the needs of their consumers and employees, considering not only what they do but how they do it. Their survival depends on it. A lot of models have been adopted by different business tycoons from time to time to boost their economy viz. the advertising agencies are displaying the linchpin elements of their organization and the interested candidates follow their business and the disinterested skip their ad. Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has adopted a similar strategy to meet the needs of different ministries by involving the youth enrolled in Department of Education. You know, the very future of our society depends upon the innovations and discoveries made by the scientists from time to time. It is universally accepted that scientific research is the finest outcome of human intellect and fundamental for the progress of society and understanding nature, universe, matter and whatever constitutes these. The innovative environment under the banner of Smart India Hackathon demands the creation of meeting place of all the science and to work in a synergic manner for translating the information into application and offer out-of-the-box solutions to the various societal problems in general and particularly raised by the different ministries/organizations as mentioned in the problem statements under Smart India Hackathon. The stress on multi learning environment (MLE) should be prerequisite because it can affect learning outcomes and student developments without any reservation. This multi learning environment demands strong bonding between the institutions of learning and the industries and this approach is going to be the central dogma of integrated approach for addressing the various societal problems. The prime movers working in an integrated system must respect the moral code of sustainability. You know, the current socio-economic system is based on a linear model of economy, in which firms make products and the consumers use and dispose. This linear production model incurs unnecessary resource losses in several ways. Dire need is to revisit this socio-economic system by integrating the ecological aspect and to transit to a resource efficient and regenerative circular economy. The circular economy brings the idea of restoration and circularity in order to replace the traditional concept of end-of-life, shifting towards the use of renewable energy, eliminating the use of toxic chemicals and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of material, products, systems and business models.
To know the guidelines, process flow, themes and problem statements of Smart India Hackathon (SIH-2023) click the link Smart India Hackathon 2023 (sih.gov.in).
In this backdrop, one of the problem statements under software category raised by the Agriculture, Food-Tech and Rural Development of Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir is traditional agriculture practices lack real-time monitoring and efficient operation on fields which leads to inefficiencies and low production levels.
Under the domain bucket of smart automation under hardware category raised by the Power department of J and K UT and as per their problem statement J & K UT PDD suffers the highest percentage of Aggregate Technical and Commercial (A T and C) losses in the country. A T and C losses of over 56% have resulted in power liabilities of Rs 14,164 crore on account of mismatches in power purchases from outside utilities and revenue collection. Power officials attribute the main reason for such high losses to power theft. Illegal tapping of overground wires and connecting crude heating gadgets especially in winter season causes damage to Distribution Transformers while also forcing unscheduled power cuts. The main way of mitigating power pilferage is by replacing Low Tension (LT) and High Tension (HT) wires with insulated overground/underground cable wires, which require significant capital investment. The objective is to develop a low-cost solution which can be installed and incorporated within the existing power infrastructure. The solution would be able to pinpoint locations and magnitude of power theft in real time and inform the concerned authorities immediately.
As per the problem statement raised under the smart Education domain bucket the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities are ethnic groups found in various regions of India, including Jammu and Kashmir. These communities are known for their nomadic lifestyles and traditional livelihoods such as animal husbandry and farming. These nomadic communities spend most of and sometimes even their whole lives migrating between the regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite their cultural heritage, both communities face numerous challenges, one of them being a lack of education. As education plays a very important role in one’s life, so devise a method or some moving/mobile education system or tech product so that the children of these communities can have proper education while on the move as they don’t get to attend schools properly. Mobile Networks and related things are also an issue as they visit places which have very low network range. First, develop a solution which can be implemented for primary education and later on, this can be scaled to higher classes if required. The solution should also look into viability, accessibility, and cost aspects. The solution should be innovative, for ex: if you are thinking of a tablet, some may sell it in exchange for money.
In order to strengthen the heritage and culture of Jammu and Kashmir one of the problems raised is to develop solutions to effective market linkage and promotion of One District One Product through the development of hardware or software-based solution.
In drawing things to a close, Govt. of India under the banner of Smart India Hackathon is inviting the attention of all the enrolled students to participate in this innovative club by sharing his or her scientific acumen for the development of nation India in general and solving societal problems in particular.
Dr. Arshed Iqbal Dar is an Assistant Professor of Zoology,Govt. Degree College Pattan, Department of Higher Education Jammu and Kashmir, can be reached at iamarshediqbal@yahoo.com
