On October 26, 2020, Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Additional Secretary NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog launched ‘India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE)’ which will be organized by NITI Aayog’s AIM on December 7-8, 2020 in association with Australia’s national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
- It has been launched on the lines of the virtual summit between the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi and Australian PM Scott John Morrison held on June 4th, 2020.
- The focus of I-ACE is on the identification and development of innovative technology solutions by bright-minded students, startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of both nations to address the circular economy challenge.
Four key themes for the Hackathon:
- Innovation in packaging reducing packaging waste
- Innovation in food supply chains avoiding waste
- Creating opportunities for plastic waste reduction
- Recycling critical energy metals and e-waste
Hackathon Process:
–Interested candidates can apply via http://aimapp2.aim.gov.in/iace/ by November 6, 2020.
–Shortlisted students and startups/MSMEs will be called for the hackathon, where two winners (one student and one startup/MSME) per theme from each country will be announced at an award ceremony on December 11, 2020.
–The winning Indian student and startup/MSME teams will be awarded a prize of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively along with post-hackathon product development opportunities. The winning Australian student will be awarded a prize of AUD$3500 and the winning Australian SMEs/startup team a prize of AUD$9500.
Recent Related News:
i.Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) NITI Aayog and Ramesh Chand, Member NITI Aayog launched “Performance and Monitoring Dashboard” (dashboard.tribal.gov.in) which was developed under Centre for Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) for evaluating the tribal data.
ii.NITI Aayog’s AIM has partnered with Freshworks Inc., a customer-engagement software company to provide robust support to innovators and entrepreneurs in India.
About Australia:
Capital– Canberra
Currency– Australian dollar
