Outcomes of earlier version of ‘YUKTI’ will be released soon – Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’

Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, today launched an initiative ‘YUKTI 2.0’ to help systematically assimilate technologies having commercial potential and information related to incubated startups in our higher education institutions. Minister of State for HRD, Shri Sanjay ShamraoDhotre, Additional Secretary (Higher Education), Shri Rakesh Ranjan, Chairman, AICTE Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Member Secretary, AICTE, Dr. RajivKumar and Chief Innovation Officer, MHRD’s Innovation Cell Dr. AbhayJere were also present during the occasion through online medium.

Earlier, the Minister had launched the YUKTI (Young India combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation) web portal on 11 April, 2020. Ministry of HRD prepared the portal in view of Coronavirus. The portal intends to cover the different dimensions of COVID-19 challenges in a very holistic and comprehensive way. Through this portal, the Ministry of Human Resource Development will endeavor to ensure that students, teachers and researchers in higher educational institutions are getting appropriate support to meet the requirements needed to advance their technologies and innovations.

While addressing the participants Shri Pokhriyal said that YUKTI 2.0 is logical extension of earlier version of ‘YUKTI’, an initiative of MHRD, to identify ideas relevant in COVID pandemic. He also informed that all the outcomes of earlier version of ‘YUKTI’ will be released soon.

The minister appreciated the initiative and said that our Prime Minister has given us the mission of making Bharat ‘Atmanirbhar’ and, YUKTI 2.0 initiative is a very important step in that direction. He said that our youngsters are very capable of thinking innovatively and we should make every possible effort to help them convert their ideas into enterprises. More importantly, initiative like YUKTI 2.0 will also help in fostering the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in our academic institutions".

The Minister expressed his happiness while launching the YUKTI portal. He also invited students, faculty members, startups and other stakeholders of higher education institutionsto register on the YUKTI portal and share their technologies and innovations.

Shri Pokhriyal said that this database will provide a clear picture of the state of the innovation ecosystem of our higher educational institutions. This will also help the government to identify bottlenecks and formulate appropriate policies to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in the country. Ministry will provide the best possible help to support creative innovations and technologies to help the society at large. The Minister hoped that this portal will prove to be a milestone towards promoting innovations and entrepreneurship culture in our higher education system and involving youth in nation building.

Minister of State for HRD, Shri Sanjay Dhotre also congratulated the entire team of MHRD’s Innovation Cell and AICTE for this unique initiative. He said that the “innovations in medical field developed by engineers have resulted in disruptive technologies. The Minister hoped that even ‘YUKTI 2.0’ will help us identify many more disruptive solutions from our higher and technical institutions.”

Chairman AICTE Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe informed about the need of such platform and emphasized on the need to support student entrepreneurs keen on pursuing their startups along with academics while Mr. Rakesh Rajan, Additional Secretary, MHRD said that YUKTI 2.0 needs to emerge as Market place for connecting innovators with investors, so that innovative technologies can be taken forward for commercialization.