In hopes of involving the country’s youth in the development of digital technology solutions, the
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) put on the Smart India Hackathon under
India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development. There were 57 winners out of the student applications received since the launch of the hackathon in April. Applicants provided solutions to the 598 problem statements set up by 29 different departments which require digital, innovative solutions.

The statements come from a variety of ministries and bring up areas of concern which could include inefficiency, revenue loss or corruption. The hackathon itself involved six hours of constant competition.
“Over 42,000 engineering students from across the country participated in the hackathon which
was one of the largest such exercise in the world,” an HRD Ministry official said. “57 projects on problem areas suggested by various ministries, including the Ministry of Road and Transport, Defence, Steel, Science and Technology, Civil Aviation and ISRO, among others.”

The 57 winners of the hackathon include a vibrating sensor which can identify reckless driving, games to educate users about health, an app to provide connections between farmers and retailers and an ‘e-toll’ which can be used a secure method of payment. “It harnesses creativity and expertise of students, sparks institute-level hackathons, builds funnel for Startup India campaign, crowd-sources solutions for improving governance and quality of life and provides opportunity to citizens to provide innovative solutions to India’s daunting problems,” the HRD Ministry official said. The next edition of the hackathon has also been announced by the ministry.

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