Bengaluru, Dec 1 : Eight finalists from across the country participated in the 24th edition of the National Finals of the TCS Rural Quiz, hosted by the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology, Karnataka government and Tata Consultancy Services. Every year, the final round of the quiz is held as part of the Bengaluru Tech Summit. The run-up to the final of the quiz witnessed participation from 26 states and five union territories. More than 5.5 lakh students from over 350 districts across the country took part in the preliminary rounds of the quiz, which was conducted as a combination of virtual and physical shows. This year, the quiz was open to students from classes 8 to 12 across India. The national finals had five segments which challenged students' knowledge on technology. Udit Pratap Singh of BSP Senior Secondary School, from Bhilai, Chhatisgarh, was the winner in the national finals and Vignesh Nauso Shetye of K B Hedgewar Vidyamandir, from Bicholim, Goa, was the runner-up. The national winner and runner-up will receive Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively. All the remaining finalists will receive a TCS education scholarship of Rs 10,000. The awards were presented by Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT and BT, along with Sunil Deshpande, Regional Head, TCS Bengaluru. Speaking on the occasion, Kharge said that the idea of the rural IT quiz is to inspire young people from rural backgrounds to learn more by nurturing their curiosity. Along with making them aim for good grades in school, it's important to keep their spirit of inquiry and curiosity alive, he added. The Department of Electronics, IT, BT and Science and Technology, Karnataka government and TCS have been organising the Rural IT Quiz since the year 2000. /IANS