Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla brand ambassador of Centre's 'Viksit Bharat Buildathon'

New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Shubhanshu Shukla, who became the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS), is the brand ambassador of "Viksit Bharat Buildathon", a nationwide innovation movement set to engage students from schools having classes 6-12, according to Ministry of education officials.

The Buildathon, the largest-ever school hackathon, will mobilise more than one crore students from 1.5 lakh schools across the country to ideate, design, and develop prototypes under four themes.

The hackathon is being organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission.

"Shukla is the brand ambassador of Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025. On Saturday, he called upon School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar. They discussed the Buildathon’s vision and initiatives, aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of fostering scientific temperament, creativity, and innovation among students, empowering them to become future-ready contributors to India’s development journey to Viksit Bharat," a senior official said.

Group Captain Shukla, a 39-year-old Indian Air Force officer and test pilot, completed his maiden space voyage as part of the Axiom-4 mission, a commercial spaceflight supported by ISRO and NASA, and operated by Axiom Space.

The journey marked a milestone for India: Shukla is the first Indian to step aboard the ISS and only the second Indian to go into space, following Rakesh Sharma's iconic flight in 1984.

The Buildathon was launched on September 23 and the registrations are open till October 6. The live Buildathon will be held on October 13 and the winners will be announced in December.

The Buildathon calls upon students studying in classes 6-12 to join teams, think creatively, and develop ideas and prototypes that address real-life challenges.

The students will work around four themes of national importance: Aatmanirbhar Bharat – building self-reliant systems and solutions; Swadeshi – fostering indigenous ideas and innovation; Vocal for Local – promoting local products, crafts, and resources; and Samriddhi – creating pathways to prosperity and sustainable growth. PTI GJS GJS DV DV