Students Innovate Solutions at Smart India Hackathon 2025

The software edition of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025 culminated today at the Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) in Faridabad. Over the course of two days, students engaged in intensive problem-solving sessions focused on agriculture-related challenges. Participants tackled issues such as crop disease detection, yield prediction, analytics for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and monitoring of farm machinery.

A total of 30 teams, comprising 180 students from various colleges across India, presented innovative solutions aligned with six problem statements issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The event was marked by round-the-clock collaboration and mentorship from faculty, industry experts, and jury members who assessed the teams based on criteria including innovation, feasibility, and scalability.

Shikhar Gangwar, a member of the BITJNEXORA team and student of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, shared insights into their project. “Our idea is to create a solution that helps farmers clearly understand how much crop each part of their farmland is generating,” he explained. By pinpointing high-yield and low-yield areas, their initiative aims to enhance productivity while supporting the PMFBY program by providing accurate yield data for fair subsidy and tax assessments.

Nationwide, the Smart India Hackathon 2025 featured a total of 1,360 finalist teams, representing 8,160 students from 727 institutions competing across both software and hardware editions. The scale of participation was unprecedented, with more than 72,000 idea submissions and engagement from over 820,000 students in internal hackathons, marking SIH 2025 as the largest edition to date.

In a virtual address to all SIH finalists, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, Union Minister of State for Education, praised the increasing involvement of youth in innovation. “Smart India Hackathon submissions have soared to 72,165 this year, a testament to India’s rapidly accelerating youth innovation ecosystem,” he stated. He emphasized the potential of young minds, quoting the Prime Minister: “India’s youth are the biggest strength of our nation. Their innovation and resolve will build the India of tomorrow.”

Dr. Majumdar highlighted the importance of uniquely Indian solutions, remarking, “Our problems are unique, and for their solutions, we need uniquely Indian approaches. This event is not about copying other countries; it is about leading with ideas that solve India’s real challenges.” He also noted the participation of 53 all-women teams at the national level, reflecting a growing trend of female innovators in technology.

The winners of the event included teams from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Andhra Pradesh, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in Madhya Pradesh, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Technical Campus in Delhi, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College of Engineering in Satara, Maharashtra, Amrutvahini College of Engineering affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University in Maharashtra, and Techno Main Salt Lake in West Bengal.

The Smart India Hackathon continues to serve as a platform for fostering innovation, encouraging collaboration among students, and addressing pressing agricultural challenges in India.