NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, in association with CSIRO, is organizing a two-day hackathon on circular economy, ‘India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE)’, on 7 and 8 December, 2020.
- The idea of I-ACE was conceived during a virtual summit on 4 June, between the Indian and Australian prime ministers, exploring innovative ways to boost circular economy in India and Australia.
- I-ACE will focus on identification and development of innovative technology solutions by bright-minded students, startups and MSMEs of both nations.
- The four key themes for the hackathon are as follows:
- Innovation in packaging reducing packaging waste
- Innovation in food supply chains avoiding waste
- Creating opportunities for plastic waste reduction
- Recycling critical energy metals and e-waste
- The winning Indian student and startup/MSME teams will be awarded a prize of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively, coupled with post-hackathon product development opportunities.
- The winning Australian student will be awarded a prize of AUD$3500 and the winning Australian SMEs/startup team a prize of AUD$9500.
What is Circular Economy?
According to the Word Economic Forum, a circular economy is an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design:
- It replaces the end-of-life concept with restoration,
- Shifts towards the use of renewable energy,
- Eliminates the use of toxic chemicals, which impair reuse and return to the biosphere,
- Aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, systems and business models.
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