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India's 5G Hackathon 2026 Aims to Foster Next-Gen Telecom Innovations

The Department of Telecommunications has launched the second edition of the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 to catalyze the development of next-generation telecom solutions. The initiative invites participants from students, startups, and MSMEs to submit proposals across themes like 5G, AI, and IoT applications until April 17. Selected teams will receive financial support from a Rs 50 lakh seed fund and access to advanced 5G lab infrastructure for prototype development. The winning innovations will be showcased and awarded at the India Mobile Congress 2026, with a total prize pool exceeding Rs 10 lakh.

Key Points: 5G Hackathon 2026: Foster Innovation, Boost Make in India

  • Rs 50 lakh seed funding pool
  • Open to students, startups, MSMEs
  • Focus on AI, IoT, 5G use cases
  • Total prize pool over Rs 10 lakh
2 min read

5G Hackathon to foster next-gen telecom solutions, boost 'Make in India'

DoT launches 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 with Rs 50L seed fund & Rs 10L+ prizes to develop next-gen telecom solutions. Apply by April 17.

"Proposals will be received through the designated 100 5G Use Case Lab institutions, which will function as nodal centres. - DoT"

New Delhi, March 21

The second edition of '5G Innovation Hackathon 2026' aims to foster next-generation telecom solutions, seeking to catalyse the development of innovative and scalable solutions leveraging 5G and allied technologies, according to the government.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the second edition of its flagship initiative under the '100 5G Use Case Labs' Initiative. The submissions will remain open until April 17.

The Hackathon invites participation from students, startups, MSMEs, and innovators across the country.

"Proposals will be received through the designated 100 5G Use Case Lab institutions, which will function as nodal centres. All entries will undergo a structured multi-stage evaluation process, including institute-level screening, regional committee assessment, national level evaluation based on presentations, prototype development support and final evaluations based on physical demonstrations," said DoT in a statement.

Applications are invited across a broad spectrum of thematic areas, including 5G and 5G Advanced-based use cases, applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for telecom technology development as well as network operations and maintenance, and IoT-enabled applications in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, industrial automation and other key areas of the economy.

It further stated that selected teams will be provided both financial and infrastructural support to convert their ideas into working prototypes.

A dedicated seed funding pool of Rs 50 lakh has been earmarked for this purpose.

In addition, teams will have access to the advanced infrastructure available at the 100 5G Use Case Labs established across premier academic institutions for testing, validation, and refinement of their solutions.

The Hackathon offers a total prize pool exceeding Rs 10 lakh. The first prize carries Rs 5,00,000, followed by Rs 3,00,000 for the runner-up and Rs 1,50,000 for the second runner-up, along with a special Best Idea award of Rs 50,000.

In addition, support for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) filing will be extended to up to 25 teams.

The final results will be declared on October 1, 2026, and the selected innovations will be showcased and awarded at India Mobile Congress 2026, according to the DoT.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
As a computer science student, this is the opportunity I've been waiting for! My team is already brainstorming an IoT solution for smart farming. The access to those 5G labs in premier institutes is a game-changer. Let's make India a telecom tech leader!
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Rohit P
Good step, but execution is everything. Hope the evaluation process is truly merit-based and transparent. Also, ₹50 lakh seed pool sounds good on paper, but divided among many teams, will it be enough for serious hardware prototyping? Just asking.
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Sarah B
The focus on AI/ML for network operations is smart. Telecom infrastructure is complex, and predictive maintenance using AI could save crores and improve service. Excited to see what comes out of this. The 'Make in India' push in tech is impressive.
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Karthik V
Inclusion of MSMEs is crucial. They are the backbone of our economy. A 5G solution for small-scale industrial automation from a local MSME could create massive employment. Jai Hind!
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Nisha Z
Hope the innovations don't just stay as prototypes. There should be a clear pathway for the winning solutions to be adopted by telecom companies or relevant ministries. Otherwise, it's just another competition. The idea is brilliant though.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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