IIT Roorkee hosts smart India hackathon 2025 hardware edition grand finale

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee inaugurated the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025 - Hardware Edition Grand Finale , marking the final stage of this national-level hardware hackathon focused on developing practical, technology-driven solutions to real-world challenges.

Designated as a nodal centre by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), IIT Roorkee is hosting 150 student innovators and 36 faculty mentors from across the country. The event is conducted at Rethink! The Tinkering Lab is centered exclusively on hardware-based innovation, prototyping, and system development .

The inauguration was held in the presence of academic leaders, institutional coordinators, and participating teams, along with a virtual connection to the central inauguration of SIH 2025. The programme featured a welcome address by Prof. Varun Sharma, single point of contact (SPOC) for SIH 2025, and remarks from representatives of the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell.

This year’s hardware hackathon at IIT Roorkee includes 25 shortlisted teams working on five high-impact problem statements issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). Teams are developing working hardware prototypes for extreme-weather surveillance systems, satellite-integrated handheld radios, crop maturity prediction devices, low-cost cotton-picking mechanisms, and advanced jute retting machinery.

The innovations being built align with national flagship missions such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, Viksit Bharat@2047, Digital India, Make in India, and Agriculture 4.0, emphasizing indigenous design, manufacturing, and deployment.

Speaking at the inauguration, IIT Roorkee Director Prof. K.K. Pant said that the Smart India Hackathon reflects the nation’s growing focus on technology-led problem-solving. He noted that hosting the final stage of a hardware innovation challenge at IIT Roorkee demonstrates the institute’s commitment to solutions that directly impact national security, agriculture, and rural livelihoods.

Prof. Varun Sharma, faculty coordinator

of the Tinkering Lab and SPOC for SIH 2025, said the hardware edition of SIH provides students with a real-world platform to transform ideas into deployable physical systems through hands-on prototyping, mentoring, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The solutions developed during the Grand Finale are expected to contribute to India’s long-term goals of technological self-reliance, youth empowerment, agricultural modernization, and next-generation hardware innovation.