The 8th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition NLEPC for the INSPIRE Awards ' MANAK Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge began on Saturday. It is showcasing the innovative ideas from 581 students representing various States and UTs of the country.<br />''<br />''Secretary, Department of Science and Technology Dr. Renu Swarup congratulated all participants and said that the country has created a robust ecosystem to nurture creativity of young innovators. She said, there is a huge opportunity for the young innovators to demonstrate their inherent potential. Ms Swarup said, the whole purpose of the program is to ignite a million young minds, making them part of the larger innovation-driven science and technology development within the country.<br />''<br />''The eighth edition of NLEPC corresponds to the students selected under INSPIRE Awards ' MANAK program during Financial Year 2019-20 and owing to COVID-19, it was deferred last year. More than one thousand students attended the online programme, which will continue for five days starting today.<br />''<br />''The award ceremony of the 8th NLEPC of the INSPIRE Awards ' MANAK will be held in a virtual mode on 8th of this month wherein Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will give away the awards to the creative children of the country.<br />''<br />''The exhibition which features the best of the innovative ideas from over 3 lakh 92 thousand ideas and innovations received at the beginning of the season is open to all and can be accessed by visiting nlepc.nif.org.in between 4th to 8th September 2021.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #000000;">The INSPIRE Awards ' MANAK scheme is aligned with the Start-up India initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The scheme aims to motivate students in the age group of 10 to 15 years and studying in classes 6 to 10 to become future innovators and critical thinkers.</span><br />