E-Yantra Finals of IIT-B from March 18

The finals of the e-Yantra project sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, under the National Mission for Education through ICT (NMEICT) will be held at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) on March 18 and 19. The theme of the competition this year is “Smart Services” where student teams have to develop indigenous solutions using robotics to engineer services such as delivery services, hazardous waste handling and emergency services. The event, over the years, has not only managed to take Robotics to the heartlands of India but has emerged as a life-changer for many participants.

Meet Uttam Kumar Gupta and Jayant Solanki from J.K. Institute of Applied Physics and Technology, Allahabad, last year’s finalists of e-Yantra Robotics Competition at IIT Bombay who are handling prestigious individual projects. Mr Solanki said, “The fact that mentors give us an open hand at what we want to do is the trick. We work at our own pace and come up with creative solutions rather than tailor-made solutions.”

The e-Yantra project is held across a range of manufacturing, defence, smart homes, etc. The goal of the e-Yantra project is to, in a scalable manner, create a cadre of engineers to address problems that a rapidly growing economy such as India so sorely needs. Prof. Kavi Arya, Principal Investigator, e-Yantra project said, “Our main aim is to empower students and teachers across the country through ‘Project-based Learning’. We want to create resources that will contribute to “Make in India.”