Rajasthan marks IT Day 2023 with a three-day celebration of the state’s tech and startup ecosystems

Rajasthan’s Department of Information Technology and Communication marked Rajasthan IT Day with a three-day series of events beginning March 19, 2023 and culminating on March 21 with a grand showcase of the state’s IT and startup infrastructure.

Held at venues across Commerce College, Rajasthan College, and Jawahar Kala Kendra, JLN Marg in Jaipur, the celebrations saw more than 58,000 youth, startups, investors, enterprises, industry experts, celebrities, and other ecosystem enablers from across the country come together to network, share their knowledge, and learn about the state’s growing startup and technology scene.

The event kicked off with the iStart Youth International Film Festival, featuring movie screenings from a number of acclaimed and upcoming Indian and global filmmakers, such as Aye Zindagi, The Physics Wallah Story, and Lakadbaggha. The festival also had a number of interactive sessions with filmmakers and actors which included Kabir Khan and Milind Soman, who spoke about their life journeys and shared advice with the youth in the audience.

The Startup Conclave saw sessions from business and thought leaders alike. These included: Author Chetan Bhagat; Ashneer Grover, Co-founder of BharatPe, who spoke about ‘The hard truth about life and startups’; Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai, Author who spoke about ‘Chanakya Neeti: A Start-up Approach’; Anubhav Dubey, Founder, Chai Sutta Bar, Sanjyot Keer, Founder, Your Food Lab, and Niyati Mavinkurve, Indian YouTuber, spoke about their startup and growth journeys in a ‘Startup GupShup’ session.

While Anubhav told the audience that it was important for startups to “win the hearts of the customer to make profits in any business”, Niyuti said, “It is important to understand the difference between politics and policy. Politics will go on no matter what, but policies have a direct impact on your life.”

The IT Day also saw a 36-hour online and a 48-hour offline hackathon organised, with the theme ‘Building a Future on the Power of Ideas’. More than 3,000 students worked non-stop in the offline mode, with the winning group’s idea ‘Developing a solution to enhance the agriculture sector of India by promoting precise farming using IoT and machine learning’ bagging a bounty of Rs 25 lakh, and the two runners-up groups winning Rs 20 lakh and Rs 15 lakh each.

The Mega Job Fair saw thousands of applicants interviewing for job openings from more than 430 participating companies. Over 12,500 candidates received offer letters with the highest paying offer letter valued at Rs 36 lakh, from Offshore Technolabs. A career hackathon in association with Remarkable Education brought together students, professionals, and respective industry experts together to take part in career guidance and mentorship sessions. Anubhav Dubey, socio-civic changemaker Pooja Bajaj, ISRO Scientist Suresh Kumar, Dr. Anshul Dhingra, and Dilraj Singh Rawat, motivated students and youth to pursue career guidance and mentorship advice.

This event is being organized by the Government of Rajasthan under the ambit of IT Day 2023, to provide a platform for School students to explore new career opportunities.

Other offerings at the Rajasthan IT Day also saw a huge audience engage actively, such as the TecRush- carnival and run, startup expo and marketplace, Investor Pitching organised in association with LetsVenture, RealTime Angel Fund and Marwari Catalysts, and more, with more than 100 iStart accredited startups, at least 80 other startups and businesses in the marketplace were successful in selling their products.

Rajasthan’s Hon’ble Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also attended the Mega Job Fair and handed offer letters to some of the highest-paying job recipients, laid the foundation stone of Rajiv Gandhi Knowledge Service and Innovation Hub, and launched the Jan Aadhaar e-wallet. The event also witnessed facilitation of 11 iStart startups with Rajiv Gandhi Innovation Award.

The event concluded with a cultural programme where the artistes enthralled the audience with their performances.