<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday batted for research and innovation, saying it has to be made a "way of living" with increasing acceptance for it in society.</p>.<p>Addressing students at the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon, he said social and institutional support will boost innovation and new ideas and original thinking should be respected.</p>.<p>Modi said India is making rapid strides by keeping its faith in the young population and noted that its innovation index ranking has gone up.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/use-women-power-to-achieve-goals-faster-says-prime-minister-modi-1139281.html">Think what can we do for women workforce, says Prime Minister Modi</a></strong></p>.<p>The number of patents in the last eight years has gone up by seven times and the count of unicorns has gone beyond 100, he said.</p>.<p>Smart India Hackathon has become an excellent example of public participation, and the young innovators are the flag-bearers of the "Jai Anusandhan" call made by him on Independence Day, he said.</p>.<p>SIH, which started in 2017, is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve the pressing problems of society, organisations, and government. It aims to inculcate the culture of product innovation, problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking among students. </p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday batted for research and innovation, saying it has to be made a "way of living" with increasing acceptance for it in society.</p>.<p>Addressing students at the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon, he said social and institutional support will boost innovation and new ideas and original thinking should be respected.</p>.<p>Modi said India is making rapid strides by keeping its faith in the young population and noted that its innovation index ranking has gone up.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/use-women-power-to-achieve-goals-faster-says-prime-minister-modi-1139281.html">Think what can we do for women workforce, says Prime Minister Modi</a></strong></p>.<p>The number of patents in the last eight years has gone up by seven times and the count of unicorns has gone beyond 100, he said.</p>.<p>Smart India Hackathon has become an excellent example of public participation, and the young innovators are the flag-bearers of the "Jai Anusandhan" call made by him on Independence Day, he said.</p>.<p>SIH, which started in 2017, is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve the pressing problems of society, organisations, and government. It aims to inculcate the culture of product innovation, problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking among students. </p>