NSO. India in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), successfully concluded its 36-hour hackathon titled "Hack the Future" today at the IITGN campus.

The event witnessed participation from 18 teams representing prestigious academic institutions across India which included IITs, NITs, IIITs etc. Participants tackled three innovative challenges presented to them with guidance given by mentors from the Ministry and the institute. A five jury members comprising experts from industry, academia, and the Ministry evaluated the final solutions.

The valedictory session was graced by Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI & Head NSO; Shri P.R. Meshram, Director General, NSO India and Dr. Rajat Moona, Director, IIT Gandhinagar.

In his address, Shri P.R. Meshram congratulated all participants and highlighted that the hackathon represents an extension of the Ministry's ongoing modernization initiatives. Dr. Moona encouraged participants to continue their work in data science and statistics beyond the hackathon, leveraging the extensive datasets made available by MoSPI. He also commended the Ministry for its innovative initiatives.

Dr. Garg expressed satisfaction with the nationwide participation and congratulated all finalist teams. He encouraged participants to continue working in this field to contribute to nation-building efforts.

Prizes were awarded to the top three solutions across three categories. Plaksha University, Chandigarh claimed the top spot in two categories, while Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology won in the remaining category. The second-place winners were IIT Jammu, VIT Vellore, and NIT Goa in their respective categories, while NMIMS Mumbai, IIIT Vadodara, and IIT Kharagpur secured third place in their respective categories.

The event concluded with a collective commitment to continue fostering innovation through multi-stakeholder collaboration.

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Samrat/Allen