Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun/Mumbai, 12 Jan: On the occasion of National Youth Day, the State Higher Education Minister, Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, today launched the country’s first “Eat Right Youth Hackathon–2026”, aimed at promoting a safe, healthy, and sustainable food system. Dr Rawat inaugurated the hackathon via a webinar from Mumbai, stating that the youth of the state will present their innovative ideas related to safe and balanced nutrition through this competition. With the launch of the hackathon, the application window for participants has also been opened.
Addressing the webinar, Dr Rawat said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national campaigns such as “Fit India” and “Eat Right India” are promoting a healthy lifestyle across the country. As part of this, organising the Eat Right Youth Hackathon across all government and private higher educational institutions of the state, with the support of Nutrition Connect, GAIN India, Academy of Management Studies, and the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA), Uttarakhand, is a commendable initiative. He noted that Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to organise a hackathon on critical issues like food safety and nutrition. This statewide innovation-based competition will provide youth with an opportunity to present innovative and practical solutions to challenges related to safe food, nutrition, food wastage, traditional practices, and sustainable agriculture. A total of five best teams from the state will be selected.
On this occasion, Joint Director of the Higher Education Department, Prof AS Uniyal, urged all universities, colleges, medical colleges, and other institutions to ensure active participation in this important initiative. He emphasised the selection of capable student teams at the institutional level and encouraging them to participate in the hackathon. Prof Uniyal stated that the top five selected teams will be awarded cash prizes and trophies as follows: First Prize: ₹1.5 lakh; Second Prize: ₹1 lakh; Third Prize: ₹75,000;
Fourth and Fifth Prizes: ₹50,000, each.
Deputy Commissioner, FDA Uttarakhand, Ganesh Kandwal, stated that under the guidance of Health Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, the department has been continuously implementing programs such as Eat Right Campus, Eat Right School, Eat Right Station, and FoSTaC training to strengthen food safety in the state. He called upon every citizen to become aware of safe, clean, and nutritious food.
During the webinar, Dr Bhuvaneshwari Balasubramanyam, Country Director of the international development organisation GAIN India, elaborated on programmes being implemented across India, especially food fortification initiatives in Uttarakhand. Meanwhile, Devjani Samantary, Global Project Manager of Nutrition Connect, shared experiences of innovative competitions conducted in India and other countries. On this occasion, Vijeta Singhari, Project Coordinator at GAIN India, and Senior Consultant JC Pandey provided detailed information about the participation process and guidelines for the hackathon.
The webinar was attended by Director of Higher Education Prof VN Khali, Joint Director Prof AS Uniyal, Deputy Commissioner FDA Ganesh Kandwal, along with registrars, directors, principals, and senior officials from more than 300 universities, colleges, medical colleges, and technical institutions across the state.
