Startup Competitions & Hackathons in India

An industry-specific accelerator program connecting mid-to-late stage startups with corporate partners to solve complex challenges and drive commercial collaboration.

An early-stage startup challenge by Cars24, Startup India, and Startup Policy Forum, offering a shared prize pool of ₹1 crore, mentorship, and deployment opportunities across Fintech, Mobility, Supply Chain, and Sovereign AI.

An India-wide grand challenge inviting students, startups, and enterprises to build innovative digital twin solutions for India's logistics sector, offering cash prizes and access to key datasets.

A national challenge to identify and accelerate validated, deployable innovations addressing heat and climate-health challenges in India, offering cash prizes and support.

An online, beginner-friendly hackathon with a $300 prize pool, open to participants worldwide including India.

The D-Prize Global Competition provides up to US$20,000 to launch new organizations distributing proven poverty solutions in low- and middle-income countries.

A national-level virtual hackathon by IEEE SMC GNITC — 48-hour sprint with a $1,350 prize pool.

A global competition for early-stage AI startups addressing major global challenges, offering a $20,000 grand prize, mentorship, and global exposure.

A virtual hackathon for students, researchers, and early-stage entrepreneurs focused on SDGs and global science — $1,000 prize pool.

NSA 6.0 is a flagship initiative by Startup India, DPIIT, recognising and rewarding startups with innovative, scalable, and impactful solutions across 22 categories, offering a cash prize of ₹25 lakh.

A national competition by Startup India for school and college students, awarding cash prizes for innovative prototypes and MVPs across key sectors.

Uttar Pradesh awards up to ₹3 crore in grant-in-aid to scaling-stage startups picked through an open Grand Challenge.

Two startups per sector win a government work order of up to ₹15 lakh and ₹10 lakh to prove their concept at UP Startup Week.

A national platform for India's most promising agri startups to showcase scalable, high-impact solutions with grants up to ₹15 lakhs and expert mentorship.

Pre-incubation cohort by Maruti Suzuki & IIM Calcutta Innovation Park for early-stage startups in mobility, manufacturing, sustainability and social impact — ₹13 lakh cash rewards, paid PoC and Japan immersion.

India's premier startup competition offering mentorship, exposure, and funding up to ₹10 Lakhs for startups of all sizes and industries.

India's premier startup competition — pitch your ideas, get mentorship, and win funding up to ₹10 Lakhs.

A 3-day offline hackathon in Bengaluru for experienced developers to build production-grade AI solutions on edge devices — $6,000 prize pool.

A pitch competition for startups of all sizes and industries, with funding up to ₹10 Lakhs and mentorship from industry experts, held across 19 locations in India.

India's premier startup competition offering mentorship, exposure, and funding up to ₹10 Lakhs for startups of all sizes and industries.

Startup Haryana's free innovation challenge for Haryana residents: ₹1,00,000 for the top performer in each district and ₹5,00,000 each for the three best statewide. No deadline published yet.

India's premier pitch competition for college students, founders, and early-stage startups — ₹3 lakh prize pool, judged by IIT professors and industry leaders.