28 March 2026 · Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi

India
Innovates
2026

Where Code Meets Constitution - India's national civic tech hackathon building for Viksit Bharat 2047.

₹10L+
Prize Pool
4
Domains
3-6
Team Size
2
Rounds
Register on Unstop Learn More
Finale Date
28th March
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Venue
Bharat Mandapam
New Delhi, India
Organized By
HN x MCD
In collaboration with DDU · IIT KGP · DTC · NSUT · GGSIPU
Focus
Applied AI + Civic Tech
Policy x Technology
Grand Finale Begins In
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Days
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Hours
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Minutes
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Seconds
The Mission

Building for the Nation

India Innovates 2026 is a national-level civic tech hackathon focused on Applied AI, organized by HN and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). It invites India's brightest student innovators to build working products, prototypes, or breakthrough technology ideas capable of transforming governance, urban systems, democracy, cyber security, and national infrastructure.

Under the banner of "Where Code Meets Constitution", selected teams showcase directly to investors, government ministries, bureaucrats, diplomats, founders, and ecosystem leaders at the iconic Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. This is NOT a casual hackathon - it is a policy + technology national innovation platform.

This is positioned as a movement aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, every line of code written here serves the Constitution's promise of justice, equality, and fraternity.

Live Product Demos
Government Recognition
₹10L+ in Prizes
Paid Apprenticeship

What Sets This Apart

This is NOT a build-on-site hackathon. Development must be completed BEFORE 28 March 2026. The finale day is exclusively for live demonstrations and on-the-spot judging by experts.

Top teams receive FREE exhibition booth space at Bharat Mandapam where they present to investors, government ministries, and startup founders. Outcomes include government + political party pitch opportunities, paid government apprenticeships, and potential full-time role conversions.

Register on Unstop
How It Works

Program Flow

01

Register on Unstop

Form your team (3-6 members) and register. Applications are evaluated and shortlisted.

02

Join WhatsApp Community

Join the official WhatsApp community, the mandatory coordination channel for all participants.

03

Submit PPT / PDF

Submit your solution as TeamName_DomainName.ppt/.pdf. Top submissions get booth space. Download PPT Template

04

Booth Selection

Shortlisted teams receive FREE exhibition booths to present at Bharat Mandapam.

05

Live Showcase

Demonstrate your product/prototype to investors, bureaucrats, diplomats, and founders.

06

Winners Announced

On-the-spot evaluation and same-day winner announcements. Prizes released within 7 days.

Problem Statements

4 Domains That Matter

Each team must select exactly ONE domain. Build solutions with real-world impact for governance, urban systems, democracy, and national infrastructure.

01

Digital Governance

Modernizing public service delivery through technology — from e-governance to digital identity.

02

Space Tech & Aerospace

Advancing India's space capabilities with satellite communications, remote sensing, and launch tech.

03

Safety & Security

Building safer communities through public safety technology, surveillance tech, and disaster response systems.

04

Tribal Development

Empowering tribal communities with technology for healthcare, education, and livelihood enhancement.

05

Sustainable Environment

Fighting climate change with clean energy, waste management, and environmental monitoring solutions.

06

AgriTech

Revolutionizing Indian agriculture through precision farming, supply chain optimization, and market access.

07

EduTech

Transforming education with accessible, personalized, and technology-driven learning experiences for all.

08

HealthTech

Improving healthcare accessibility and outcomes through telemedicine, diagnostics, and health data.

09

Urban Solutions

City intelligence, infrastructure, pollution, traffic & waste management.

  • Urban Flooding & Hydrology Engine - GIS-integrated predictive system for 2500+ micro flood hotspots
  • Hyper-Local AQI & Pollution Dashboard - Ward-wise real-time air quality ML system
  • AI Circular Waste Intelligence - Computer vision + IoT waste classification & route optimization
  • Dynamic AI Traffic Flow + Emergency Corridor - Real-time signal adjustment & green corridors
02

Digital Democracy

Governance systems, political tech, citizen services & democratic innovation.

  • Global Ontology Intelligence Graph & AI Booth Management System
  • Hyper-local geo-fenced civic notification & secure blockchain E-voting
  • AI Avatar platforms & multilingual AI calling agents
  • Public Service CRM, AI Co-Pilot for leaders & sentiment analysis dashboards
03

Cyber Security

Build systems for national-grade digital defense and cyber resilience.

  • Threat detection & real-time monitoring systems
  • Secure access & advanced encryption frameworks
  • Phishing prevention & anti-social engineering tools
  • Incident response & automated remediation platforms
04

Open Innovation

Your wildcard domain — any technology solution that contributes to India's development goals. Cybersecurity solutions are registered and evaluated here for Guinness record eligibility.

Includes Cybersecurity
Schedule

The Journey

Until March 5, 2026 (10:59 PM IST)

Registration Deadline

Form your team of 3-6 members and register on Unstop. Open to all students across India. Solo participation is not allowed.

Jan 24 - March 10, 2026 (11:59 PM IST)

PPT / Solution Submission

Submit your PPT or PDF explaining your idea, technical approach, and expected impact. File naming format: TeamName_DomainName.ppt/.pdf (mandatory). Download PPT Template

March 11 - March 15, 2026

Evaluation Phase

Expert panel evaluates submissions. Top-quality submissions receive physical exhibition booth space and proceed to the on-ground showcase.

March 28, 2026 · 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Grand Finale

Live product demonstrations at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Present to government officials, investors, diplomats, and industry leaders. On-the-spot evaluation, winners announced same day.

Rewards

Prizes Worth ₹10,05,000

₹10,05,000
Total Prize Pool
Up to ₹1,50,000 per sector
Select categories offer enhanced prize pools for top performers
1st Prize
₹1,00,000
Per Domain
2nd Prize
₹75,000
Per Domain
3rd Prize
₹50,000
Per Domain
Runner-Up
₹25,000
Per Domain

Beyond Cash Prizes

Government & political party pitch opportunity
Paid government apprenticeship
Potential full-time role conversion
Participation certificates for Round 1 qualifiers
All prizes released within 7 days post-event
FREE exhibition booth at Bharat Mandapam
Rules

Guidelines

Eligibility & Teams

  • Open to all students across India
  • Team size: strictly 3 to 6 members
  • Solo participation is NOT allowed
  • Must select exactly ONE domain
  • Each participant can be part of only one team

Submission Rules

  • Submit PPT or PDF explaining idea, approach & impact
  • File format: TeamName_DomainName.ppt/.pdf
  • Non-compliant filenames may result in rejection
  • Project must be original, built specifically for this event
  • Open-source tools allowed; previously published projects discouraged
  • Download PPT Template

Finale Day Rules

  • Development must be COMPLETED before 28 March 2026
  • No coding or development time on finale day
  • Finale is demo + judging ONLY
  • Travel & accommodation are participant responsibility
  • Professional conduct is mandatory at all times

Important Notes

  • Plagiarism = immediate disqualification
  • Jury decisions are final and binding
  • Organizers may modify rules in exceptional cases
  • PPT quality determines physical access to finale
  • Only shortlisted teams receive exhibition booths
Questions

Frequently Asked

India Innovates 2026 is a national-level civic tech hackathon focused on Applied AI. It invites India's brightest student innovators to build working products, prototypes, or breakthrough technology ideas for governance, urban systems, democracy, cyber security, and national infrastructure. It is organized by HN and MCD, in collaboration with DDU, IIT Kharagpur, DTC, NSUT, GGSIPU, and partners.
Any student in India can participate. Teams must consist of 3-6 members (mandatory). Solo participation is not allowed. Register on Unstop before March 5, 2026.
Each team must submit a PPT or PDF explaining their idea, technical approach, and expected impact. The mandatory file naming format is TeamName_DomainName.ppt or TeamName_DomainName.pdf. Non-compliant filenames may result in rejection. Submission window is January 24 to March 10, 2026. Download PPT Template
No. Development must be completed BEFORE March 28, 2026. No coding or development time will be provided on finale day. The finale is exclusively for live product demonstrations and on-the-spot evaluation by judges.
The Grand Finale is on March 28, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Expo timing is 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM IST. Winners are announced the same day. Travel and accommodation are the participants' responsibility.
1. Urban Solutions - City intelligence, flooding, AQI, waste, traffic.
2. Digital Democracy - Governance systems, voter tech, e-voting, civic platforms.
3. Cyber Security - Threat detection, encryption, phishing prevention.
4. Open Innovation - Healthcare, Robotics, AgriTech, FinTech, AI/ML, or any original solution.
Each team must select exactly one domain.
Prizes are awarded per domain (4 domains): 1st Prize: ₹1,00,000 · 2nd Prize: ₹75,000 · 3rd Prize: ₹50,000 · Runner-Up: ₹25,000. Select categories offer up to ₹1,50,000 per sector. Total pool is approximately ₹10,05,000. All prizes are released within 7 days post-event. Additional outcomes include government apprenticeships and pitch opportunities.
Registration is through Unstop. Form your team, select your problem domain, and submit your application. Registration deadline is March 5, 2026 at 10:59 PM IST. After registration, join the official WhatsApp community for coordination.
India Innovates 2026 is attempting two Guinness World Records — Largest Civic Tech Hackathon and Largest Hackathon Under Roof. Official Guinness guidelines require the event to remain primarily focused on civic technology. Therefore, Cybersecurity has been removed as a standalone registration option and merged under the Open Innovation category for new registrations.

The two primary civic tech registration domains are Urban Solutions and Digital Democracy.

If you already registered under Cybersecurity: Your registration remains completely valid. You can still present your ideas, projects, and products. Prizes and evaluation are unchanged.
Partners

In Collaboration With

Bits&Bytes Logo
Bits&Bytes
Executive Partner
DDU
Deen Dayal Upadhaya College
Delhi University
IIT KGP
IIT Kharagpur
DTC
Delhi Transport Corporation
NSUT
Netaji Subhas University of Technology
GGSIPU
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
THE FISTA
Collaborator
CBPACS
Collaborator
Sponsors

Our Sponsors

We're looking for partners who believe in building India's tech future. Want your brand in front of thousands of innovators?

Interested in sponsoring India Innovates 2026?

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Community

Join the Discord

Connect with fellow participants, get live updates, ask questions, and find your team — all in one place.

  • ⚡ Real-time announcements & judge Q&As
  • 👥 Find teammates for your domain
  • 🔨 Resource drops & workshop links
  • 🏆 Leaderboards & submission alerts
Join Server →