State Innovation Council

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, HARYANA

SCHEME:

‘YOUNG THINKERS’

(Contribution in Governance and Public Service)

CONCEPT:

The State Innovation Council is the State level body of the National Innovation Council of India, which is the country’s premier think tank to discuss, analyze and help implement strategies for innovation. Realizing that innovation is the engine for the growth of prosperity and national competitiveness in the 21st century, the President of India has declared 2010-2020 as the ‘Decade of Innovation’. To take this agenda forward, the Office of Adviser to the PM on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations (PIII) is working on developing a national strategy on innovation with a focus on an Indian model of inclusive growth that underlines access, affordability, quality and fosters innovations at the grassroots.

Working within this framework, the State Innovation Council wishes to harness the intellect of the youth, and use them as a think tank, while developing their interest in governance/Public Service and encouraging them to analyze, innovate and improve on government schemes, both in their conception and their implementation. The aim of this initiative is to involve many divergent voices, views, mode of doing things to impact the end result qualitatively and quantitatively. To this end, the State Innovation Council is coming up with a scheme of providing a platform to our young minds to be a part of improvement engine in the system and provide new ideas which are implementable, at ground level. Italso not only suggests betterment in systematic delivery of services,smooth implementation-mechanism but also make a measurable and quantifiable change in the lives of millions of people of all ages. This would thus bea means to tap the intellectual vigor of the youth to explore ways of finding innovative methods to improve government schemes, formulate new schemes and suggest ways of innovative use of technology in our daily life and in governance, so as to help formulate a growth model that fits the unique needs of our state/nation. This will generate in youth, a sense of belonging and a feeling of participation in the governance of the State. This will also provide an opportunity to the youth to be heard and to prove the point that they are, in real sense, demographic dividend for the country.

ELIGIBILTY:

Students and Youth between 16 to 35 years of age.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants are required to send in their ideas latest by 5 September 2013 by email to Application must be a word document.The subject line of the email must contain ‘Young Thinkers’. Alternatively the ideas can be sent by post toDepartment of Science and Technology, Haryana, Bays No. 35-38, Sector-2, Panchkula.

SUBMISSION OF IDEAS:

Applicants must provide the following particulars- i) Full Name ii) Gender iii) Date of Birth iv) Name of Father and Mother v) Educational Qualifications vi) Educational Institution vii) Contact number viii) Residential Address ix) Email id.

The Entry must contain a write up which demonstrates a deep understanding of a government scheme/program operational in the State of Haryana, as well as recommendations for effecting improvements in its design, content and delivery.The ideas must be implementable keeping in view the social, economic, cultural and geographic conditions of the state of Haryana. The write up should not be more than 5 pages.

CATEGORIES:

1Scheme related ideas-

(a)Suggestions on Existing Schemes.

(b)Innovative ideas to formulate new schemes.

2Technology related ideas-

(a)Innovative use of existing technologies in Public Services.

(b)Innovation of a new technology to improve people’s lives.

The recommendations should be constructive and innovative in nature aimed at improvement of a government scheme/programand its delivery. It should not be in the nature of a complaint/grievance redressal. For proposing new schemes, the objective, the mechanism and the output results should clearly be mentioned. Similarly the innovative ideas on technology related schemes should be clear, cogent and implementable,resulting in cost effectiveness and savings or/ and should make life easier.

YOUTH INGENUITY APPRECIATION AWARD:

a)Short-listed applicants who present their ideas in the workshop will be given certificate of participation.

b) In addition applicants whose ideas are prime facie found innovative and implementable will be given a certificate of appreciation and their papers will be forwarded to concerned department.

c)The applicants whose idea is finally accepted and taken up for implementation will be duly honoured by the State Innovation Council.

For honoring the ingenuity of ideas following cash awards will be given.

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS:

1)If changes are being suggested in the existing schemes then the reasons for it must be given alongwith the expected outcome of amendments suggested, also whether these would entail additional financial requirement or reduce the existing level of expenditure.

2)For introduction of new schemes, the objective, the need, the implementationset up required, the category to be catered to, must clearly be mentioned, and how the idea suggested is different from any existing schemes, for the targeted beneficiary.

3)For innovative ideas in the field of technology, the innovation in the area and pattern of use of existing technology or the advent of new technology or equipment, must clearly be elaborated upon.

The ambiguous suggestions, repetition of existing schemes, policies and practices, framework and impractical ideas would be rejected. Only those applicants whose ideas are found to be novel, implementable, affordable environmentally sustainable solutions, leading to simplification of procedures, betterment in delivery system, bridging the gaps, plugging the loopholes, creating hassle-free access by people, easy adoption of new technology or simple conversion of technology etc., would be eligible to present their innovative thoughts in a State level workshop/seminar. Theyoung thinkers would be duly honored for their out-of-the-box thinking and for being partners in the progress of the state / country.

PROCESS:

I.One officer of the Science & Technology Department is appointed as nodal officer.

II.On receipt of applications, a processing committee would segregate them category-wise and evaluate their contents and short list the applicants, list out the department in respect of which ideas have been received.

III.A seminar/workshop would be organized where in the short-listed applicants will be given the opportunity to present their novel ideas which are expected tobe specific, executable, cost effective and replicable.

Following methodology is suggested for implementation of the aforesaid initiative.

1. An advertisement will be given in a) newspapers having vide circulation in Haryana, b) in newspapers having Delhi, all India editions and/or state specific reputed newspapers/editions of national dailies.
2. Scheme will be circulated in all colleges of Haryana through Higher Education and Technical Education departments and in all the universities in the state.
3. Wide publicity through press notes at state level and though Deputy Commissions at field level.
4. This can be repeated after 6 months or so.
5. This will be posted on official Website: - of the science and technology department.

Dheera Khandelwal,IAS

Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana,

Science & Technology Department.

and

Member Secretary

State Innovation Council

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