New Delhi, Nov 7: Central Government initiate Tech-Thon 2020, a 36 hours long pan-India virtual hackathon organized by IEEE, National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Oracle, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, witnessed a successful conclusion on November 1. The virtual hackathon received registrations from over 1300 aspirants forming 390 teams. The hackathon webpage witnessed over 15,000 visitors in 2 weeks.

Shortlisted 447 enthusiasts from 100 teams participated in the Hackathon on the five problem statements provided by 3 central Government Ministries – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Road Transport and Highway and Ministry of Education.

A thorough assessment of proposals was done by a panel of 27 jurors from the industry, academia, and Government.

The five challenges seeking innovative solutions from Gov Tech-Thon 2020 were

1. Suggest alternate crops or crop rotation for farmers during different seasons using artificial intelligence technology, considering the terrain and local challenges to increase the productivity
2. The seed supply chain is a complex ecosystem involving various stakeholders. Address the issues of poor seed quality effectively by tracing the seeds using BlockChain technology
3. A mobile / web-based application for scanning, resizing, and uploading documents (as required) in a single flow
4. A tool for monitoring online exams from homes/institutions through a combination of remote-supervision software and webcam. The system should ensure necessary authentication, control, fraud detection and compliance, using appropriate technology like AI / ML etc.
5. A self-learning tool for automating Vehicle Fitness Test procedures transparently

The first place was secured by FitForFuture team from Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Private Limited, for demonstrating an innovative solution prototype for automating vehicle fitness checks.

Second prize went to HackDemons of Indian Institute of Information Technology Vadodara for providing a secure solution for delivering unsupervised tests remotely

Orange team from PES University Bengaluru secured the third prize for providing a unique solution for seed certification using BlockChain technology.

The valedictory function on November 1, witnessed participation from senior officials representing Ministries of Agriculture, Education, and Transport as well as senior leaders from NIC, IEEE Computer Society board member Prof. Ramalatha Marimuthu, Oracle including jury members and mentors.

Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC, while addressing the Valedictory function of Gov Tech-Thon 2020, said that these virtual hackathons displayed a unique combination of social sector and emerging technologies. She also highlighted that the Hackathon has enabled the use of emerging technologies for social inclusion, empowerment of people & overall upliftment of the nation.