IIM Bangalore's National Student Case Competition 2026 was organised by the Center for Digital Public Goods (CDPG) at IIM Bangalore, with support from Perfios – Anumati Account Aggregator. It had a ₹5 lakh prize pool and was open to bachelor's and master's students across India, from any discipline. The submission deadline was 7 September 2026, 6 PM IST and the national finals were scheduled for 30 September 2026, so this edition is over. It is still a useful template for engineers who want to try a case competition.
The 2026 timeline
- 14 August 2026: submissions and registrations open
- 7 September 2026, 6 PM IST: last date for submission, through a form
- By 15 September 2026: shortlisted teams announced
- 30 September 2026: National Finals at IIM Bangalore
One news report headlined 15 September as a "final test" date. The competition listing and the CSR Journal report both place the shortlist by 15 September and the finals on 30 September.
The case
The case was based on India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). CDPG's conclave report, dated 5 October 2026, says the competition used Digi Yatra as a real-world case to explore innovation, governance, privacy and the responsible expansion of digital public systems. Students were asked to examine the opportunities and risks as trusted digital identity infrastructure potentially expands into new use cases, with recommendations covering technology, policy, governance, privacy, inclusion and public impact. The competition had three tracks, each given equal weightage. The same report says it received 450+ submissions from students across India.
Who could enter
- Bachelor's and master's students enrolled in any recognised college or university in India
- Any discipline, including engineering, management, public policy, law, economics, design and social sciences
- Full-time or part-time programmes
- Each student could be in only one team
- No limit on the number of teams from one college
Team size
Most sources, including the competition listing and the CSR Journal, say teams of exactly 5. One news report said at least 5. If you enter a future edition, check the organiser's announcement.
Format
Teams submitted a solution to the announced case. Shortlisted teams then presented in person at IIM Bangalore in the National Finals before practitioners, policymakers and academics, with a chance to interact with experts attending the CDPG Annual Conclave.
Prizes
The total prize pool was ₹5 lakh. A place-by-place split was not found in the sources checked.
How other 2026 case competitions compared
These rules came from a competition directory, so confirm on each organiser's page. All have closed.
- MnAnalyse 2026, IIT Guwahati. An online mergers and acquisitions case competition with a ₹2,00,000 prize pool, teams of 3 to 5, a quiz, a case submission and a final presentation.
- Inkling 2026, IIM Ranchi with Dot. Teams of exactly 3 from the same institution, with no inter-college teams, and a ₹50,000 pool.
- CaseVerse 2.0, NIT Rourkela. Open to UG and PG students in teams of 1 to 4, with a ₹20,000 pool.
- Kartavya 2026, BIT Mesra. A sustainability case competition with teams of 1 to 4 and cross-college teams allowed.
The pattern is clear: team size and whether you can mix colleges vary a lot, so read those two rules first.
How an engineering student could approach a case
This is a suggestion, not an organiser rule. Start by restating the case problem in one sentence, then separate technology, policy and user impact, since the IIMB tracks were weighted equally. Bring one thing engineers do well, such as a concrete architecture or a measurable risk, and pair it with a teammate who can handle policy or finance. Brabble's guides on first case competitions and MBA case competitions explain the format in more detail.