12th NLEPC: 62 Young Innovators Felicitated by Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, felicitated 62 young innovators at the 12th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition (NLEPC) held under the INSPIRE-MANAK scheme in New Delhi. He said school pupils are no longer stopping at working models and are turning their ideas into products that sell.

The numbers from the ceremony

The minister said 25 students have already taken their products to market and that young innovators have generated around 250 intellectual property rights; some, he said, are earning in lakhs while still at school. In all, 729 students took part in the event, which the Department of Science and Technology (DST) organised with the National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF). The INSPIRE-MANAK 2026 Compendium was released on the occasion.

Who was present

Among those on the dais were the DST Secretary, Prof Umesh V. Waghmare; Prof Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, who chairs the National Innovation Foundation-India; Dr Umesh Kumar Sharma, who heads the capacity building division for science and technology in the department; and Dr Arvind C. Ranade, the foundation's Director. Senior officials, teachers and mentors attended too.

What the children built

Projects on display included an artificial intelligence based alcohol detection system that stops a vehicle from starting, an ultrasonic washing machine that saves water, a device that keeps stray dogs away using vibrations, assistive technology for pupils with visual impairment and a tracking walking stick. The DST Secretary noted that the participants came from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Kashmir and from Mizoram to Mumbai, with projects spanning agriculture, healthcare, environmental protection, accessibility, energy, water conservation and safety.

About INSPIRE-MANAK

MANAK stands for Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge. The scheme is run by DST with the National Innovation Foundation-India, an autonomous body under the department, and invites pupils of Classes VI to XII to develop original ideas rooted in science and social use. Selected pupils are helped to build models and proof-of-concept prototypes through workshops and interaction with experts.

The 12th edition brought together pupils picked in those two financial years. Pointing to the start-up economy, the minister said the count had risen from about 350 to 400 in 2014 to roughly 2.5 lakh, with close to 60 per cent in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. He called for industry partnerships, business-to-business meetings and stronger mentorship, cited the removal of the three-year existence condition for deep-tech start-ups supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and proposed that a future edition seat a parent or guardian beside every participating child.