India Australian Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) 2020 | UPSC
HEADLINES:
AIM Launches India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon(I-ACE), with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
WHY IN NEWS:
Hot from PIB !
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Hackathon : Science and Technology : Recent Developments
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS go through aim , focus , themes and its importance.
For MAINS go through the significance and Windup . Let us dive in !
ISSUE:
INDIA AUSTRALIAN CIRCULAR ECONOMY HACKATHON (I-ACE)
- I-ACE is a two-day event held simultaneously across Australia and India.
- It is open to university students, SMEs and start-ups in Australia and India.
- Throughout this hackathon, teams will select an idea to develop, justify, and present as a solution in response to a theme.
- Projects can take the form of an app, digital art, a website, a game, 3D models, graphic designs, academic research, or any other medium which can be tested and innovated upon.
AIM
- India-Australia will enable the students and startups/MSMEs of both the nations in fostering innovative solutions for the development of a circular economy across the food system value chain .
- I-ACE aims to accelerate the development of young and promising students and startups/MSMEs working towards the creation of a sustainable future.
WHAT IS CIRCULAR ECONOMY?
- The current economic model of take-make-dispose requires large amounts of primary materials, currently around 90 billion tonnes a year globally.
- It results in growing waste flows, emissions and adverse environmental impacts.
- Transitioning to a circular economy has been identified as a major commercial opportunity.
- It creates new industries and jobs, reduces waste and emissions and increases the efficiency of natural resource use.
ORGANISERS
- Atal Innovation Mission , NITI Aayog, Government of India
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
TIMELINE
- AIM (Atal Innovation Mission), in association with CSIRO, is organizing a two-day hackathon on circular economy.
- The idea of I-ACE was conceived during a virtual summit on 4 June, exploring innovative ways to boost circular economy in India and Australia.
FOCUS
THEME
The four key themes for the hackathon are as follows:
- Innovation in packaging reducing packaging waste
- Innovation in food supply chains avoiding waste
- Creating opportunities for plastic waste reduction
- Recycling critical energy metals and e-waste
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The following entities are eligible to apply for India Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE):
- Students currently pursuing Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate course from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of India
- Entity recognized as Startup under Startup India scheme by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
- Entities recognized as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises having Udyam Registration number by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
SIGNIFICANCE
- India and Australia have had a strong and productive bilateral partnership since a decade and our collaborations across a broad range of areas have yielded significant results.
- India and Australia can align research and developmental efforts to achieve more at a challenging time in the history of mankind.
- In the long run a circular economy model will provide more jobs and higher economic growth.
- It will also reduce cost, drive innovation and have significant environmental benefits.
PRIZE
- Shortlisted students and startups/MSMEs will be called for the hackathon.
- Here two winners (one student and one startup/MSME) per theme from each country will be announced at an award ceremony on 11 December.
- It will be coupled with post-hackathon product development opportunities.
- The winning Australian student will be awarded a prize of AUD$3500 and the winning Australian SMEs/startup team a prize of AUD$9500.
IASbhai WINDUP:
DEAR ASPIRANT, LET US CONTRIBUTE ! WHY ?
- You can engage with leading experts in Circular Economy.
- You can participate in Master classes with Indian and Australian experts.
- Pitch your idea to win part of a $52,000 prize pool
- Connect with like-minded peers and mentors
The need of the hour is to adopt a disruptive way of doing things, which is based on sustainability and moving towards a circular economy.
SOURCES:PIB | India Australian Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) 2020 | UPSC
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