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State team wins national-level Rural IT Quiz

Last Updated 17 November 2015, 20:47 IST

A team of two students from Karnataka on Tuesday emerged winners of the national-level Rural IT Quiz 2015 organised by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in partnership with the Department of IT, BT and Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka.

Geeve and Karthik Rao from Little Rock Indian School, Udupi, defeated the team of Dakshak Nagrale and Anand Baidmohata from Yeshwant Mahavidyalaya, Maharashtra, by a margin of 15 points, in the event held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall in the City.

Hosted by quizmaster Giri ‘Pickbrain’ Balasubramaniam, the quiz was based on the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence’. Through the five rounds of Knowledge Engineering, Means-Ends Analysis, Computer Time, Cognitive Simulation and Social Intelligence, the teams from Karnataka and Maharashtra were competing to gain the lead. In the final round, a question on Net neutrality turned out to be decisive, giving Karnataka the winning points.

The winners received an educational scholarship of Rs 1,00,000 and the runners-up received Rs 50,000, along with trophies and bags of goodies. Giving away the prizes, Tanusree Deb Barma, Director of the Department of IT, BT, Science & Technology, said, “Such industry initiatives are welcome by the Government of Karnataka. It ensures that the benefits of IT percolates to the grassroots.”

Month-long preparation

Geeve and Rao, both Class 11 Computer Science students, prepared for months for the competition, reading about companies on the Internet and watching videos of the quiz from previous years. “We did not have to mug up anything because we love IT and have been interested in the subject from childhood,” said an euphoric Geeve.

Started in the year 2000, the quiz programme for students from classes 8 to 12 was meant to enhance awareness of the IT industry among the rural youth.

Since 2011, the competition, which had been limited to Karnataka, was taken to the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh as well. The teams contested at the national level after qualifying in the prelims, district, regional and state-level rounds held between ­August and October this year, in their respective states.

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(Published 17 November 2015, 20:46 IST)

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