Startup Competitions & Hackathons in India

A global competition for young social entrepreneurs (aged 18-30) providing grant funding from US$3,000 to US$15,000, mentorship, and global visibility for impact-driven ventures.

IIT Bhubaneswar REP hosts ReFlow 2026, a national hackathon for innovators, students, and entrepreneurs to develop impactful solutions in menstrual health, hygiene, and sustainability.

A global online hackathon by TikTok with a $34,500 prize pool, open to Indian developers and creators.

India's national-level 24-hour offline hackathon at NIT Delhi — ₹1,00,000 prize pool for student teams of 2–5 members.

A national-level hackathon by OSCode and CommunityX with a ₹50 lakh prize pool, open to Indian teams.

An offline case competition in Kanpur for students to pitch business ideas and win prizes worth up to ₹1,00,000.

A beginner-friendly online hackathon by Dialogate with a ₹1.93 lakh prize pool — open to global participants including Indian teams.

A mission-driven AI hackathon with a $250,000 prize pool, open to Indian participants building AI agents and ministry tools.

A 24-hour hackathon for developers, startups, and students to build solutions for digital entertainment problems, offering cash prizes and potential collaboration opportunities with FEG India.

An offline software testing hackathon in Bengaluru for QA professionals and automation testers — ₹1,00,000 prize pool.

A multi-round innovation challenge for STEM students, hosted by PCCOE Pune — ₹2 Lakh prize pool plus trophies.

An online coding challenge by Coding Club TIT featuring quizzes, DSA problems, and an interview round — ₹10,000 prize pool.

India's premier national-level 24-hour offline hackathon for students — ₹40,000 prize pool, mentorship, and certificates.

A 36-hour national hackathon at JIMSEMTC Greater Noida with nine tech tracks, prizes worth ₹15 lakh or more, and mentorship.

A global online hackathon with a $10,000 prize pool, challenging participants to build innovative communication and enterprise solutions using AI.

A global prize by Wellcome and Nature for groundbreaking interventions in mental health science, offering up to ₹9.52 crore for a winner and ₹2.38 crore for finalists, along with significant visibility and support.

A global challenge prize offering up to £6.25 million (approx. ₹65.6 crore) to multi-disciplinary teams developing innovative solutions to improve outcomes for people affected by snakebite in high-burden settings.

A global online hackathon hosted by Rice University focused on urban sustainability — ₹16.28 lakh prize pool.

A major global prize championing new interventions for anxiety, depression, and psychosis, offering up to US$1,000,000 (approx. ₹8.33 crore) to accelerate impact and policy prioritization.

A 36-hour national-level hackathon in New Delhi for college students — ₹37,000+ prize pool, mentorship, and networking.

Uttar Pradesh's biggest startup reality show is back for Season 2 — UP-based founders pitch to a panel of investors for funding of up to ₹1 Cr per startup, mentorship and on-screen visibility.

A national challenge supporting climate-smart agricultural innovations for smallholder farmers in India, offering prizes, mentoring, market access, and opportunities for acceleration and significant follow-on funding.