Fadnavis says youth research will make Maharashtra a global innovation hub

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presented prizes to the winners of the fourth edition of 'The Governance Challenge' at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre of the NCPA in Mumbai. The competition was organised in association with the Gates Foundation and Samagra.

Fadnavis said he was confident that Maharashtra, which has led the country in finance, industry, entrepreneurship and technology, has now become India's start-up capital, both in the number of start-ups and in how they are put into practice. According to him, this strength and the research of young people will make Maharashtra the world's innovation hub.

The Chief Minister said this was not just a competition but an effort to find the talent and ideas that will shape the future governance of Maharashtra and the country. The government wants the new generation's outlook to reach governance in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analysis, digital governance, urbanisation, agriculture, health, education, climate change and the innovation ecosystem. He said young people would have a key role in building a Viksit Bharat and Viksit Maharashtra by 2047.

Fadnavis said young researchers in any part of the state, including Nagpur, Nashik, Kolhapur, Nanded and Amravati, should get mentorship, technology, incubation and a market. He said a complete innovation chain, from a classroom idea to a global company, is being built in Maharashtra. He also said a hackathon should not end with a certificate; what matters is that its ideas reach the ground.

Citing figures, the Chief Minister said 18 per cent of the country's start-ups are in Maharashtra. The state has more than 30,000 start-ups, the highest number in the country. He also said start-ups, industry and academic institutions must come together to research, test and implement new ideas.

The state's first dedicated start-up incubator is being developed as 'M-Hub'. An 'Innovation City' focused on artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technology will be built on 300 acres in Navi Mumbai. Under the Maharashtra Artificial Intelligence Policy 2026, two lakh young people and professionals will be trained, and AI incubators will be set up in the state to promote AI-based research. Fadnavis expressed confidence that government data would become the basis for new research by young innovators.

He said Maharashtra has 87 universities, about 5,500 colleges and more than 45 lakh students, who have the capacity to build tomorrow's Maharashtra. The government will keep encouraging young people who come with new ideas. Since 2015, seven batches of the Chief Minister's Fellowship have given young professionals from different fields the chance to work directly with senior administrators. Maharashtra has set a target of becoming a one trillion dollar economy by 2030 and a two trillion dollar economy by 2035, and according to Fadnavis innovation will be the main strength in this. He said the state's goal is to build cutting-edge technology and its infrastructure in Maharashtra for the world.

Six teams presented ideas in different fields in the final round. Shubham Patil, Varun Damle and Sanhita Mhatre of IIM Mumbai presented on health; Ayush Mehta and Nilesh of J J Mehta School of Business, Mumbai, on agriculture; Arisha Batala, Ritik Jain and Taran Puri of the Indian School of Business on education; and Shrestha Bhat, Tarun Shekhawat and Apurva Sharma of the BITS School of Management on finance. Himanshu Patil, Mazhar Shaikh and Mohak Chandak of IIM Ranchi presented on 'Innovation in Governance', while Ankita Shirke, Siddharth Rajpal and Guruprasad Shetty of Masters' Union School of Business presented ideas on urban development.

The first prize of Rs 5 lakh in cash went to the Masters' Union School of Business team of Ankita Shirke, Siddharth Rajpal and Guruprasad Shetty, who presented on urban development. The second prize of Rs 3 lakh in cash went to the School of Business team of Ashira Batla, Taran Puri and Ritik Jain, who presented on education. The third prize of Rs 1 lakh in cash went to the IIM Mumbai team of Shubham Patil, Varun Damle and Sanhita Mhatre, who presented on health.