About the challenge

Bharat Innovation Challenge (BIC) 2.0 is a national innovation platform for school students in Grades 8–12, aged 13–18, organised and hosted by Lovely Professional University.

BIC gives young innovators a national stage to identify real-world problems, develop AI-powered and technology-driven solutions, and pitch their ideas to industry experts, founders, investors, and mentors.

The competition has two stages. Stage 1 is completely online, where participants choose one of 10 innovation themes and submit their idea as a PPT/PDF presentation. The Top 100 teams move to Stage 2—the Grand Finale at the LPU Campus on 20–21 November 2026, featuring live pitches, prototypes, networking, mentorship, and 29 award categories with ₹14 lakh+ in prizes.

There is no registration fee, and cross-school teams are allowed. Teams can have 1–5 students with 1 mandatory mentor.

Get started

Explore the challenge themes and choose a problem that interests you.
Develop an innovative solution using AI, technology, or other relevant approaches.
Create a pitch deck explaining the problem, your solution, its impact, and how it can be implemented.
Submit your idea through the challenge platform before the deadline.
If selected, move forward to the next stage and develop your idea further with guidance and mentorship.

Themes

BIC 2.0 features 10 innovation themes:
- Smart Living & Urban Intelligence
- Healthcare & HealthTech
- Cybersecurity & Ethical Tech
- Education & EdTech
- Climate & Sustainable Tech
- Aerospace & Frontier Tech
- Agritech & Rural Innovation
- AI & GenAI
- FinTech & Financial Inclusion
- Social Impact, Culture & Heritag

Requirements

What to Build

Choose a real-world problem within one of the 10 themes and develop a practical, innovative solution that can create meaningful impact. Your solution can use technologies such as AI/ML, IoT, robotics, blockchain, sensors, APIs, or other relevant technologies.

The focus is not just on presenting an idea, but on showing how your solution can work in the real world, who it helps, why it is needed, and how it can be implemented and scaled.

What to Submit

Choose a problem you genuinely want to solve from one of the 10 BIC themes, build an innovative solution using AI, technology, or creative thinking, and present your idea through the required pitch deck. Register online and submit your PPT/PDF before 30 September 2026.

File naming: TeamName_ProjectName_SchoolName

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

₹ 1,330,000+ in prizes

+ other prizes

Grand Champion Team

₹ 300,000 in cash

1 winner

1st Runner-Up

₹ 200,000 in cash

2 winners

2 x 200,000

Best AI-Powered Solution

₹ 50,000 in cash

1 winner

2nd Runner-Up

₹ 100,000 in cash

3 winners

Best Prototype Award

₹ 50,000 in cash

1 winner

Most Impactful Solution

₹ 30,000 in cash

1 winner

10 Theme-wise Awards

₹ 10,000 in cash

10 winners

10 Jury Special Awards

₹ 10,000 in cash

10 winners

Additional Rewards

1 winner

Internships for winning teams
Scholarships for all finalists
Mentorship sessions
Trophies for winners
Certificates for participants and finalists
Chance to get funded
Featured in The Hindu in School
Social media features
Student kit-bags

Judges

LPU
LPU JURIES

Judging Criteria

Projects will be evaluated by industry experts based on:
**Problem, Innovation, Solution, Technology, Impact, Feasibility, Scalability, Prototype, Competitive Advantage & Presentation** — evaluated on clarity, originality, practicality, real-world impact, and execution potential.

Lovely Professional University	Public
₹ 1,330,000 in cash	5 participants