ITANAGAR, 5 Oct: Home Minister Mama Natung, who is also the minister in charge of the National Innovation Challenge (NIC), launched the NIC on Monday here under the 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan', marking the state's participation in a national initiative being undertaken to commemorate 25 uninterrupted years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in public office.
In a release, Arunachal Pradesh Innovation and Investment Park (APIIP) CEO Tabe Haidar informed that the NIC seeks to identify, encourage and support innovative solutions to genuine problems faced by communities across India. "Its core proposition is local solution for a local problem, with potential for wider application," he said.
The initiative places emphasis not merely on ideas, but on practical solutions that can be demonstrated, implemented and potentially scaled or replicated elsewhere.
He said that participants are expected to follow a simple problem-solving approach: identify a genuine local or community problem; develop an innovative and practical solution; demonstrate implementation or proof of the solution; and clearly explain the local impact and potential for wider application. The challenge, therefore, seeks solutions grounded in actual community needs and is capable of moving from concept to implementation.
"The challenge has two categories: junior (school, ITI and undergraduate) and open (graduates, professionals, startups and community groups). The junior category focuses on insight, ingenuity and clarity of thinking, while the open category focuses on the strength of the implementation case, with a prototype or pilot expected," Haidar added.
The challenge invites innovations across multiple themes, including village and panchayat, agriculture, education, healthcare, city/urban problems, environment, employment and livelihood, women and child development and safety, safety and disaster management, transport, energy, and tourism. These themes are intended to serve as areas for innovation while allowing participants to propose solutions beyond the illustrative use cases.
For Arunachal, shortlisted innovators will have an opportunity to showcase their solutions before a jury in Itanagar. Selected innovators will subsequently proceed to the zonal level challenge in Kolkata, which is the zonal centre for the eastern and Northeastern states. Innovators selected at the zonal level will have the opportunity to participate in the national finale in New Delhi.
The APIIP has been designated as the nodal agency for executing and coordinating the NIC Arunachal. The initiative will provide a platform for innovations emerging from local communities and enable promising solutions from the state to reach a wider national audience. Innovators, students, young professionals, startups, independent innovators and community groups are invited to participate.
Interested applicants will have to apply through the state startup portal at www.startup.arunachal.gov.in.
