Students’ proposals may become part of state govt policy

WITH A state government that believes in inclusive governance, four student groups from the city now have a chance to actively participate in policy-making. The students, who grabbed winning spots in four themes of the Transform Maharashtra competition, will present their ideas to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The government is mulling the feasibility of the proposals for they may now be converted to policies. “All the solutions have been sent to the relevant departments within the government and based on the outcome of the feasibility check, policy-level decision shall be taken,” said Nidhi Kamdar, Officer on Special Duty in the CM’s office. The students are now busy preparing for the finale of the competition on May 1.

Drona, a team from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has proposed a technology solution to address drought and the resultant indebtedness of the farmers. Their ‘policy-plan’ aims at encouraging watershed management programmes in rural areas with the help of SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey) to identify critical areas for implementation. They have recommended the use of satellite imagery and drones for collecting accurate data in less time. Shivam Pundir, a team member, said the team was motivated by the CM’s novel idea of seeking students’ assistance.

Students of Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) have proposed the establishment of start-up centres in every district for providing guidance and capital investment to business aspirants. Omkar Patil, from the team ‘Maharashtrians’ which won in the theme ‘Launchpad: Start-up Maharashtra’, said: “It (start-up centre) is very much relevant today and we, as students, found it quite relatable.”

Another team from VJTI has made it to the finale. Under the theme ‘Leap of faith’ aimed at bridging the digital divide in rural pocket, team Morphosis from Dwarkadas J Sanghvi College of Engineering, Vile Parle, will be making the presentation. Transform Maharashtra was launched by Fadnavis on December 16.