PATNA, Sept. 16 -- Bihar will roll out a national innovation challenge on September 19 as part of the BJP's month-long "Seva Sankalp Abhiyan," which begins September 17, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday and marking his 25 years in public life. A dedicated portal, the National Innovation Challenge - Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, will be launched at the planetarium on September 19, open to school and college students, ITI and polytechnic trainees, young professionals, startups, rural innovators, and participants from Atal Tinkering Labs, Bihar's dairy, fisheries and animal resources minister Nand Kishore Ram said at a press conference at the BJP state headquarters in Patna on Tuesday. Ram announced a series of events as part of the month-long event. He urged households across every village in Bihar and the country to light an "aashirwad deep" - a lamp of blessing - between 6pm and 7pm on September 17. Ram credited the PM with flagship welfare schemes, including the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM Awas Yojana, and old-age and widow pensions, along with the nationwide Covid vaccination drive during his 12 years as PM and the preceding 13 years as Gujarat's chief minister. Innovation challenge entries will be judged in two categories - junior and open - so school students won't be pitted against established startups. The initiative spans six departments: higher education, animal husbandry, fisheries, science and technology, urban development, agriculture and industry. Ahead of the portal launch, a 25-car "Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Car Rally" will set out from Patna, with each vehicle representing one of the PM's 25 major schemes. The rally will pass through Arwal, Bhojpur and Rohtas before culminating in Varanasi, Modi's parliamentary constituency. Former state vice-president Amrita Bhushan Rathore called the innovation drive a key pillar of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, offering young innovators a platform to understand the problems and showcase solutions at district, state and grand-finale national levels. BJP state general secretary Nitin Abhishek and state media co-in-charge Amit Prakash Bablu were also present....