Major Achievements

INSPIRE Awards-MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge)

In the context of Start-up India initiative of the Government, INSPIRE Awards scheme has been revamped to foster a culture of scientific innovation among school children of class VI to class X. This will significantly broaden the base of our innovation pyramid to produce future entrepreneurs in large numbers. The programme has been targeted to encourage children to visualise/analyse needs of the society and inspire them to devise innovative ideas to address them. The scheme has been rechristened as INSPIRE Awards-MANAK.

Under the revamped scheme the thrust is on the power of relevant ‘original ideas’ having the potential to address societal needs through Science & Technology, especially in the context of national flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Swasth Bharat, Make in India, Energy, Environment, Sanitation, etc. Top 10 lakh ideas will be scouted from 5 lakh schools across the country in a financial year. 1 lakh top ideas will be shortlisted for an INSPIRE Award of ` 5000/- each, for preparation of a project/model and participation in District Level Exhibition & Project Competition (DLEPC). Out of this, 10,000 best projects will be shortlisted for State Level Exhibition & Project Competition (SLEPC) and top 1000 awardees shortlisted at State Level will be provided ` 20,000/- each for development of improved prototype for National level event. They will be provided mentoring support by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) in coordination with reputed academic and technology institutions of the country such as Central Universities, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) for the purpose. 1000 best projects will be showcased at NLEPC and top 60 projects shortlisted for National Awards. These 60 best models/projects will also be showcased at the Annual Festival of Innovations at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.