The Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board is organizing the first-ever State Level “Enviro-Ideation Hackathon 2023” on June 5th, 2023, to coincide with World Environment Day. The event will take place at the ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Guest for the occasion will be Sh. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh. The hackathon is being conducted under the aegis of Mission LiFE campaign, which focuses on environmental conservation and climate change.
The month-long hackathon competition began with registration and submission on May 15th, 2023, and concluded on May 25th, 2023. An internal committee of experts shortlisted 11 candidates on May 27th, 2023, who then presented their ideas through physical PowerPoint presentations on May 30th, 2023. Five finalists were selected from the shortlisted participants to present their ideas before an external panel of four distinguished experts on June 5th, 2023. The hackathon revolved around the theme of “Waste to Wonder,” with participants submitting their ideas under four sub-themes: Solid Waste, Plastic Waste, E-waste, and Construction and Demolition Waste.
The main objective of the hackathon is to encourage innovative ideas and solutions for waste management and environmental conservation. The five finalist teams will compete for the title of “First Himachal Pradesh Enviro-Ideation Hackathon Champion.” The winning team will receive a cash prize of Rs. 1.00 lakh, the second-place team will be awarded Rs. 75,000/-, and the third-place team will receive Rs. 50,000/-. The teams placed 4th, 5th, and 6th will be granted Rs. 30,000/-, Rs. 20,000/-, and Rs. 10,000/- respectively. Teams ranked at 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th shall also be presented with Rs. 5,000/- each along with certificates. Additionally, all top-ranked teams will be presented with trophies and certificates in recognition of their outstanding contributions.
The winner of the “Enviro-Ideation Hackathon 2023” will be declared by Sh. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, who will also distribute prizes to the top five winners. The Chairman of the HP State Pollution Control Board will present prizes to teams ranked 6th to 11th. Two exhibitions will be held at the venue, where participants will demonstrate their models related to waste management, air pollution, and water pollution. First exhibition of industrial community shall exhibit their innovative interventions through which they achieved effective compliance of pollution control rules and regulation. Industries who are participating in exhibitions are 1) Auro Textile Limited Baddi (Vardhman Group), 2) Shivalik Solid Waste Management Limited, 3) Innovative and Integrative Management Solutions LLP 4) Ess Dee Dev Bhoomi Bags 5) Green India Company, 6) Mohan Meakin Limited, 7) Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd. 8) Nippon Paper Foodpac Pvt Ltd Baddi and 9) a NGO namely Waste Warriors Society. In second exhibition, more than 20 reputed schools from Shimla will participate by showcasing their models made from waste materials by their team of 3 students. Their innovative ideas will be awarded by the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh.
The Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board would like to acknowledge the support and assistance provided by our industry partners, namely Morepan Laboratories, Adani Cement, Ruchira Papers, Premier Alcobev, Prime Steel Industries, Aditya Birla Ultratech and Modulous Cosmetics.
