Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology college Students Join Chief Minister’s Initiative to ‘Transform Maharashtra’
‘Transform Maharashtra’, an initiative by the Hon’ble Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has become one of the most dynamic platforms ever created in Maharashtra’s history to promote inclusive governance. It is a state-wide competition which invited solutions from the college students across the state on 11 socio-economic challenges faced by Maharashtra such as drought issue, corruption, urban poverty, digital divide, etc. The initiative has twin objectives of crowdsourcing the innovative solutions to Maharashtra’s long-term concerns as well as encouraging active involvement of youth in policy planning.
The competition witnessed around 2500 submissions from around 15,000 students across Maharashtra. The students from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology also enthusiastically participated in the competition. A total of 16 teams from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology submitted their solutions in the competition. The students gave their solutions on the themes of sustainable and smart cities, empowering the urban poor and Launchpad start-up Maharashtra. The best solutions were taken out by the help of subject matter experts and online voting that created quite a buzz on the internet with more than 6 lakhs votes casted. Results were announced in early April.
The team INFURZA under the leadership of Aditya Kamat and team members Aniket Kulkarni, Nazneen Khan, Vaibhav Jadhav, Urvi Bhavsar from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Mumbai and Akshata Chavan from Universal College of Engineering, Vasai grabbed the 3rd prize all over Maharashtra in the theme of “:Sustainable and Smart cities” Team INFURZA submitted a solution on how the waste can be efficiently managed and how energy can be generated from it by implementing a service model of biogas plants in the cities. “Biogas plant is a very traditional concept that we see in the rural areas, but through a proper service model it can be very well implemented in the cities too,” said team leader Aditya Kamat. The students of mechanical department namely Ayush Kothari and Harshad Koyande are working on technicalities of biogas plant under the guidance of Dr Kale and Prof Dalal. A retired IAS officer named Mr. Subrat Ratho and ex-professor of Rajiv Gandhi institute of technology Mr Devendra Suralkar Sir were impressed by the presentation submitted by students. Mr Devendra has been working since many years on how biogas plant can be used for effective waste management in cities. The students are planning to implement their Biogas Energy Service Model in some of the societies of Mumbai too.
Also “TEAM RGIT” grabbed 5th prize in the theme of “Empowering the Urban Poor” and team “NIRVIVAD” grabbed 5th prize in the theme of “Launchpad Start-up Maharashtra
The winners shall be given prizes and an opportunity to present their solutions to the Chief Minister on Maharashtra Day i.e. May 1st, 2017. In the Event, Chief Minister will brainstorm with Opinion Makers, Business Intellects, Subject Matter Experts and 6000 college students for ‘Maharashtra Vision 2025’. This is the first time in Maharashtra that students will discuss with the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on issues concerning the state. The Event will be graced by the presence of Major General Anuj Mathur; Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Olacabs; amongst others, and will also witness a musical performance by Kay Kay, a prominent Bollywood and cultural singer. The Event shall include an exhibition which will showcase the innovative ideas/solutions / projects by other students of Maharashtra, who could not participate in the competition.
‘Transform Maharashtra’ initiative in itself, and the fact that on one of the most significant days for the state, the Chief Minister has given utmost priority to a youth and industry-oriented initiative, demonstrate his commitment towards his agenda of development. The intent of the Government, proven capability of the involved experts, and excitement of students assure us of a better Maharashtra in very near future.
