The 7th edition of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) will concurrently commence on December 11 from 51 centres nationwide with Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan will virtually inaugurating the event.
SIH is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a problem-solving mindset. Like past editions, the student teams will, this time around, work on either the problem statements given by the Ministries/Departments/Industries or submit their ideas in the Student Innovation Category against any of the 17 themes.
For SIH 2024, more than 250 problem statements have been submitted by 54 ministries, departments, state governments, PSUs, and industries. This year, an impressive 240 per cent increase has been recorded in internal hackathons at the institute level, growing from over 900 in SIH 2023 to over 2,247 in 2024, making this the largest edition so far. More than 86,000 teams have participated in SIH 2024 at the institute level and around 49,000 student teams (each consisting of 6 students and 2 mentors) have been recommended by these institutes for the national level round.
SIH’s grand finale also serves as a ground for open interaction between officials from different ministries/government departments and students, and teachers from educational institutes which is unique and also very encouraging for the students and teachers.
The challenges identified and addressed cover 17 major areas/themes linked to sectors of national importance and national priorities. These are healthcare, supply chain & logistics, smart technologies, heritage & culture, sustainability, education & skill development, water, agriculture & food, emerging technologies, and disaster management.
SIH has profoundly influenced India’s innovation landscape, empowering students and professionals to address real-world challenges. A pivotal element ensuring this success is the SIH Alumni Network, which, through its well-designed portal (https://alumni.mic.gov.in/), has seamlessly documented success stories, showcasing transformative outcomes. Till date, SIH Alumni have established over 100 Startups, many of which have strong social dimensions.