Tomar inagurates virtual Agri-hackathon Atmanirbhar Krishi

NEW DELHI, 1 January 2021: Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated  the Virtual Agri-hackathon 2020 organised by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare in association with IARI, Pusa, New Delhi recently.

Speaking on the occasion Tomar said that besides the hard-work of the farmers the research of scientists has led to self-sufficiency in foodgrains. Agri India Hackathon is the largest virtual gathering to create dialogues and accelerate innovations.

The 2-month long event is the first of its kind & the largest virtual event in the history of Indian agriculture. It will bring together the most important stakeholders from industry & government alongside India’s young bright minds, creative startups and smart innovators who will build new, fast and frugal solutions to tackle the big questions we’re facing today.

With the launch, the application of the hackathon was made live on MyGov.in and will remain open till 20 January, 2021. The hackathon will happen in 3 elimination rounds and the final 24 winners will get a cash prize of INR 1,00,000 along with incubation support, tech & business mentoring and various other benefits. The hackathon will accept innovations & ideas on farm mechanization, precision agriculture, supply chain & food technology, waste to wealth, green energy, etc.

Tomar said “In the light of Prime Minister’s vision to introduce new-age technology and innovations in agriculture, the Agri India Hackathon is being organised.  It is a proud moment for all of us where young minds will discuss, collaborate, and create some of the best ideas & solutions which will guide us for years to come. Agriculture is the backbone of our country and plans are afoot to strengthen this backbone with youth engagement, employment generation, technology & digitization" 

Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala stressed on the Ministry’s plan to encourage youth engagement with agriculture and farmers and scope to develop new innovations. He further said that new technology and the energy of youth will bring a revolutionary change in the sector. Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Kailash Choudhary said "This event is very crucial from the standpoint of new technology and value addition in agriculture. It will help us achieve our dream of doubling the farmer's income which in turn will create many growth opportunities for the entire country."

Following the launch, Agri India Hackathon will also host speaker sessions called Agri India Meets spread across 2 months with more than 40 speakers who will discuss the present & future of agriculture.

Rewards for the winners: 24 best innovations from different focus areas will be awarded a cash prize of INR 1,00,000 each. The winning innovations will get an exclusive preference for incubation support, pre-seed & seed-stage funding of INR 5 Lakhs & INR 25 Lakhs respectively at any one of the 29 RABIs, along with the opportunity of field trial and access to technology validation.

The applications of the Agri India Hackathon will close on January 20. Apply at: https://innovateindia.mygov.in/agriindiahackathon/