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India’s journey toward Viksit Bharat 2047 hinges on simultaneously nurturing human capital and modernising financial institutions. Two recent developments reflect this integrated approach: the Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025 and the Reserve Bank of India’s initiatives to strengthen financial markets and internationalise the rupee. Together, they illustrate India's twin strategy of empowering youth as innovation leaders while deepening economic capacity and regional influence.

Fostering a Culture of Innovation: Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025

• The Viksit Bharat Buildathon, launched by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, is India’s largest school-level hackathon, engaging 1 crore students across classes 6–12.
• Aligned with NEP 2020, it aims to build problem-solving aptitude and innovation competencies from grassroots levels. Students work in teams to design prototypes based on four themes central to India’s development discourse—Atmanirbhar Bharat, Swadeshi, Vocal for Local, and Samriddh Bharat.
• The event adopts a phased structure: registrations (September), nationwide live build on 13 October 2025, and final evaluation by December. With Rs 1 crore award pool and dedicated mentorship from innovation networks and higher education institutions, it incentivises early exposure to experiential learning, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Importantly, it prioritises participation from Aspirational Districts, tribal belts, and frontier regions, promoting inclusivity in innovation ecosystems.
• By integrating rural and underserved communities, the initiative aligns with the principle of technology-enabled social justice and fosters an innovation-ready workforce. It positions schoolchildren not merely as future beneficiaries but as current contributors to nation-building—a step crucial for demographic dividend utilisation.

Rewiring India’s Financial System: RBI’s Strategic Reforms

Parallelly, the Reserve Bank of India has initiated significant policy reforms to bolster India’s financial depth and global standing. It has permitted banks to finance corporate mergers and acquisitions—a domain previously dominated by NBFCs—allowing formal banking channels to support corporate consolidation, expansion, and competitiveness. This move reflects confidence in banking sector resilience and recognises that scale and efficiency are essential for domestic firms in a globalising economy.

In a landmark regional diplomacy initiative, RBI has authorised Indian banks and their overseas branches to provide rupee-denominated loans to residents of neighbouring countries. This step supports rupee internationalisation, reduces dependence on the US dollar for regional transactions, and enhances India’s financial influence, especially amid global currency contestations.

Additional measures—such as raising the limit for loans against shares to Rs 1 crore, enabling investment of surplus Special Rupee Vostro Account balances in corporate bonds, and widening currency benchmarking—will deepen capital markets, enhance liquidity, and improve foreign participation confidence.

Conclusion

The Buildathon and RBI reforms, though sectorally distinct, serve a shared national objective: building a self-reliant, innovation-driven, globally confident India. While one invests in future innovators and inclusive talent pipelines, the other strengthens the institutional financial ecosystem needed to support economic expansion and regional leadership. Together, they represent India’s holistic developmental approach—nurturing minds, empowering markets, and globalising national capabilities in pursuit of Viksit Bharat.