Ministry of Education, Government of India, with AICTE
Smart India Hackathon (SIH)
India's largest student hackathon by participation - a nationwide competition run by the Ministry of Education where student teams solve real problem statements submitted by government departments, PSUs, and industry.
Brabble editorial · Updated 12 Aug 2026 · Official page
Particulars
- Organiser
- Ministry of Education, Government of India, with AICTE
- Mode
- Hybrid - internal round online, nodal-centre hackathon in person
- Prize / outcome
- Cash prizes per problem statement, amount set by the sponsoring department
- Team size
- 6 students + 1 faculty mentor, at least one woman on every team
- Application fee
- Free
- Rounds
- 5
What it is
Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a national initiative run by the Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell together with AICTE, now in its ninth year. Government ministries, PSUs, and private companies submit real problem statements they actually need solved; student teams pick one and build a working solution against it. It runs in two parallel tracks - a software track (a 36-hour continuous coding sprint) and a hardware track (roughly five days to build a working prototype) - and is widely reported as the largest student hackathon in the world by participation, with well over 50,000 students taking part across editions.
Rounds
01. Internal hackathon
Each college runs its own internal SIH to shortlist the teams it sends forward, via its registered SPOC. This step alone eliminates most applicants - a strong internal presentation matters as much as the idea itself.
02. Idea/proposal submission
Shortlisted teams submit a proposal against a chosen problem statement on the official SIH portal, describing the approach before any code is written.
03. Software track: 36-hour sprint
Selected software teams build and present a working solution in a continuous 36-hour hackathon at a nodal centre - no sleep breaks built into the schedule, teams manage their own time.
04. Hardware track: multi-day build
Hardware teams get roughly five days at a nodal centre to build a working physical prototype, since hardware iteration cannot be compressed into 36 hours the way software can.
05. Grand finale and results
Winning teams per problem statement are announced at the national grand finale, judged by a panel from the sponsoring department/company against criteria the problem statement itself usually specifies.
Who can enter
- Enrolled at a college/university recognised by AICTE or an equivalent body, or (via the Junior variant) students from Class 6 to Class 12
- Teams of 6 students, with at least one woman on every team (all-women teams are explicitly welcome)
- One faculty mentor per team, nominated through the institute's SPOC (single point of contact)
- Open to every discipline, not just computer science - problem statements span software, hardware, agriculture, healthcare, and more
What you actually get
Winning teams receive cash prizes per problem statement, direct recognition from the sponsoring ministry or company, and - for many participants - the resume line and networking that comes with reaching a nationally judged grand finale. It is not a recruitment pipeline the way a corporate hackathon is; the win is the problem-solving credential itself.
Frequently asked questions
- Effectively three stages: an internal round run by your own college to pick which teams go forward, a proposal/idea submission against a chosen problem statement, and the nodal-centre hackathon itself - 36 hours continuous for the software track, about five days for the hardware track - which ends in the grand finale.
- Any student at an AICTE-recognised (or equivalent) institution, in teams of 6 with at least one woman on the team and a nominated faculty mentor. A Junior edition also runs for students from Class 6 to Class 12. It is open to every discipline, not just engineering.
- Yes. There is no entry fee. Registration happens through your institute's SPOC on the official SIH portal.
- A working solution to a real problem statement submitted by a government ministry, PSU, or private company - not a hypothetical brief. Software teams build in a 36-hour sprint; hardware teams get about five days for a working prototype.
- The official portal publishes the full list before the internal round, sorted by sponsoring ministry/department and category. Most guidance recommends picking one your team can meaningfully demo in the time given, rather than the most ambitious one on the list - a working partial solution scores better than an unfinished ambitious one.
- Yes - SIH has no minimum year-of-study requirement for its main college-level edition, and the Junior variant is open specifically to students from Class 6 to Class 12. A team can mix years as long as every member is from the same institution.
- There's no penalty, and reaching the nodal-centre hackathon stage is itself a credential worth listing - thousands of teams enter and only a small fraction win per problem statement. Several institutes also give internal recognition to teams that clear the internal round, independent of the national result.
How many rounds does Smart India Hackathon have?+−
Who can participate in SIH?+−
Is Smart India Hackathon free to enter?+−
What do you actually build at SIH?+−
How do you pick a problem statement for SIH?+−
Can first-year students participate in SIH?+−
What happens if my team doesn't win at SIH?+−
More guides
Checked against public reporting and official SIH FAQs, 12 Aug 2026. Registration windows and exact dates change every edition - confirm current dates on the official SIH portal before applying.