Dona Paula, September 23, 2026: Students from 71 educational institutions across Goa are set to participate in Seva Sankalp Abhiyan 2026, a statewide technology and innovation programme led by the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (DITE&C) in collaboration with the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE).
The initiative seeks to provide students with a hands-on platform to apply technology, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking to real-world challenges, including public service delivery, while helping build skills aligned with Goa’s emerging digital economy.
The campaign commemorates 25 years of visionary leadership and dedicated service of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is anchored in the philosophy of ‘Jan Seva Hi Prabhu Seva’ — service to humanity is service to God.
The programme places emphasis on youth-led development, citizen-centric governance and digital empowerment under the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, encouraging young people to contribute actively to addressing challenges within society.
The official launch was attended by Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant and Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Shri Rohan Khaunte.
Also present were Bicholim MLA and Chairman of InfoTech Corporation of Goa Ltd. Dr. Chandrakant Shetye, Priol MLA Shri Govind Gaude, Secretary, Education Shri Prasad Lolayekar, IAS, Director of Higher Education Shri Bhushan K. Savaikar, Director DITE&C Shri Kabir Shirgaonkar, MD ITG Shri Praveen Volvotkar, CEO Goa Electronics Limited Smt. Revati Kumar, President Goa AYUSH Council Dr. Sneha Bhagwat and Founder and CEO of Kindlife Smt. Radhika Ghai.
Focus on Youth, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Speaking at the launch, Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant highlighted the contribution young people can make towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
He encouraged students to explore entrepreneurship and said that creating their own ventures can open new avenues while enabling young people to become job creators. He also urged students to develop practical solutions for sectors including health, education, environment, agriculture, tourism and disaster management.
Addressing the students, Minister Rohan Khaunte highlighted the importance of innovation within classrooms.
“Projects are no longer just about marks today, true innovation starts right inside our classrooms,” he said.
He referred to the Goa Startup Policy 2025 and its 12 dedicated schemes aimed at supporting startups and students, as well as the Goa AI Policy and its goal of creating 50,000 AI-certified resources by 2030.
He said initiatives such as Seva Sankalp Abhiyan would provide young people with opportunities to contribute to society through technology, while hackathons, panel discussions and bootcamps would allow students to test ideas against real public service challenges and refine them with industry experts.
Three-Tier Programme
The month-long campaign has been structured into three major components designed to take students from solution-building to idea exchange and entrepreneurship.
Sankalp Setu, the statewide hackathon, will run from September 30 to October 23 under the theme ‘Bridging Ideas to Impact’.
Student teams from the 71 participating colleges will work on technology-led solutions across multiple sectors, including challenges linked to public service delivery. Winning teams will have an opportunity to present their solutions to government departments and may have their ideas considered for implementation. The winning teams will also be felicitated at the conclusion of the campaign.
Sankalp Manthan, scheduled from October 5 to October 12, will follow the theme ‘Think, Explore, Solve’. The programme will bring students together at six regional hubs for keynote addresses, panel discussions and solution showcases, with more than 600 participants expected at each session.
The third component, Sankalp Nirdhar, will take place from October 26 to November 6 as Phase 1 across 10 engineering and polytechnic colleges. It will focus on entrepreneurship, innovation and industry readiness through bootcamps led by industry experts and alumni.
AI, Startups and Healthcare Innovation
The launch also featured talks by Shri Joydeep Rakshit, Founder of TAWAI Studio, on AI for employment, and Smt. Radhika Ghai, Founder and CEO of Kindlife, who spoke about her entrepreneurial journey and building sustainable startups.
Shri D. S. Prashant, CEO of the Startup & IT Promotion Cell (SITPC), presented an overview of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan programme.
The launch also saw the official introduction of the Ayur Hackathon, aimed at encouraging technology-driven healthcare innovation. Spot quizzes on IT and startups added an interactive element for participating students.
Through Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, DITE&C and DHE are seeking to connect student innovation with government departments, industry and the startup ecosystem.
The initiative aims to help students move beyond classroom learning, apply their ideas to real-world challenges and create pathways for promising concepts to evolve into practical solutions for Goa.
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