"Hackathon is learning opportunity...": PM Modi

New Delhi [India], December 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Hackathon is a learning opportunity for him too and he is always eager to interact with the participants.
Looking at the beaming faces of the participants, the Prime Minister said that their enthusiasm, willpower and desire for nation-building has become the identity of India's youth power.
PM interacted with the participants of the Grand Finale of the Smart India Hackathon via video conferencing on Tuesday.
Speaking to the participants, PM Modi said "I was waiting to talk to all of you since morning. I took updates about you during the day. You all work hard at the Smart India Hackathon but I get the opportunity to learn as well. This is the reason I try to interact with you all whenever there is a Smart India Hackathon."
The team which included students from Bangladesh too informed the Prime Minister that they are trying to address the problem of under and overloading of railway coal wagons which leads to losses or fines. They are using IoT and AI-based technologies for that.
While interacting, the Prime Minister also questioned the participants on the IoT-based system for Railway Cargo and said, "I was told that this team is working to develop an IoT-based system for Railway Cargo and there are Bangladesh students in the team as well. Can you give me an insight on some of your innovations?"
The team comprises 6 members 3 each from Bangladesh and India.
The Prime Minister expressed the confidence that their effort will benefit Indian railways, which is undergoing a transformative phase.
PM Modi informed that logistics is the focus area and hoped that many more students from Bangladesh come to India in future and mentioned that the 'Study in India ' programme will help such students.
"Indian Railways is going through its transformational phase. Central Govt is spending thousands of crores on this and our focus is also on logistics. Your innovation will be of great help. I felt good seeing students from Bangladesh in your team. We have started 'Study in India' program for students from foreign countries to come to India for higher studies...," PM Modi said.
Answering the Prime Minister, a participant in attendance of the virtual meeting said, "India has the fourth largest railway network in the world and around 70 to 80 per cent of the coal in India is being transported through these railway networks so because of that underloading and overloading takes place."
"This means that the train wagons are not being filled to the appropriate levels. They are either filled too low or too high. If filled too high the government will have to pay fine to the railways and if filled too low then the cost will not be covered. That is why we need to find ways to measure the weight of the train and reach the proper level," he said.
He added further and said, "This is the reason we are using IoT and artificial intelligence-based technologies by using modules to measure the weight of the wagons and keep track of all these weights to take the necessary action based on these weights."
"We will also use 3D scanning techniques and use artificial intelligence to predict the weights so that this can be a much faster process," he added.
The Prime Minister asked the team members about its members and prompted other participants to interact with him during the session.
Another participant from Bangladesh answered the same and said, "We are 6 members, 3 from Bangladesh and three from other parts of India."
The participant also appreciated PM Modi's Viksit Bharat initiative and told the Prime Minister about submission to the idea of making India a developed nation by 2047.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi further said that Indian Railways is going through its transformational phase.
"The Central Government is spending thousands of crores on this and our focus is also on logistics. Your innovation will be of great help. I felt good seeing students from Bangladesh in your team. We have started the 'Study in India' program for students from foreign countries to come to India for higher studies," said the Prime Minister.
Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a nationwide initiative that gives students a platform to solve problems faced by the government, industries, and other organizations. The initiative aims to encourage a culture of product innovation and problem-solving.