India's largest school hackathon commenced today, with 3 lakh schools participating.
Over 25 lakh students from classes 6-12 showcase innovation nationwide
Rs 1 crore prize pool distributed among national, state, and district winners
Live innovation activity runs from 10 AM to 11 PM today
India's largest school hackathon, the Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025, officially commenced today, October 13, 2025, marking a historic milestone in the country's educational innovation landscape. The nationwide event, which runs from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM, has mobilized over 3 lakh schools and 25 lakh students from classes 6 to 12 across the country.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the event via live stream, alongside Deepak Bagla, Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission, Government of India. The buildathon represents India's largest-ever student innovation initiative, designed to strengthen the culture of innovation at the school level.
Viksit Bharat Buildathon Schedule for 2025
The buildathon follows a comprehensive timeline that began with its launch on September 23, 2025. The registration window, which was extended to October 11, 2025, allowed students to submit their team applications and project details through the official website vbb.mic.gov.in.
Today's live synchronized innovation event connects schools from every corner of the country through a virtual platform, transforming classrooms into innovation hubs. Students present their innovations live from their school premises, which are evaluated by a panel of experts during the 10 AM to 12 PM session.
The submission phase runs from October 13-31, 2025, allowing schools to upload photos and videos of their projects on the portal. Following this, the evaluation period extends from November 1 to December 31, 2025, with the announcement and felicitation of winners scheduled for January 2026.
Key Features of Buildathon
The initiative emphasizes hands-on, experiential learning in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The buildathon creates the world's largest live innovation activity, with students innovating together simultaneously across the nation.
Students work on four key evaluation criteria: ideation, critical thinking, prototype development, and refinement. The initiative encourages students to move beyond theoretical learning and become active builders of India's future.
The buildathon operates around four themes of national importance:
Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India): Solutions promoting independence and reducing import dependency
Swadeshi: Innovations celebrating indigenous knowledge, resources, and techniques
Vocal for Local: Projects supporting and scaling local products and crafts globally
Samriddh Bharat (Prosperous India): Ideas driving economic growth and agricultural prosperity
How to participate?
Participation required schools to register through the official portal vbb.mic.gov.in before the October 11 deadline. Teachers registered as mentor teachers and formed student teams of 5-7 members from classes VI-XII. Schools could register multiple teams for participation.
Students were required to develop solutions for real-world problems and create short videos under 2 minutes showcasing their ideas or prototypes. The registration process was entirely digital and free of cost, with all participating teams receiving digital participation certificates from the Ministry of Education.
Teachers guided students through the ideation process, helping them build prototypes (physical or digital) and ensuring proper submission guidelines were followed. The initiative supported students through mentor support during the school-level innovation activities.
Awards
The buildathon features a substantial Rs 1 crore prize pool distributed among winners at three levels. The award structure includes:
10 National Level winners
100 State-level winners
1,000 District-level winners
Beyond monetary recognition, participating schools and students receive long-term support through corporate adoption, mentorship, and resources to further strengthen their innovations. The top teams gain access to continued guidance and resources for prototype development.
Winners will be announced in January 2026 during a felicitation ceremony. The evaluation process involves a national panel of experts who assess submissions based on innovation, feasibility, and social impact.
