SURAKSHA·OPEN+∞FRAUD.INDEX·₹12,000CRDAILY LOSSDEMAT.ACC·16CR++22% YOYF&O.LOSERS·9/10SEBI DATATRACK.A·FRAUD.RESOPENTRACK.B·GRIEVANCEOPENTRACK.C·EDU.BHARATOPENTRACK.D·BEH.RESILOPENTRACK.E·MISMATCHOPENPRIZE.POOL·TBATOP 3 WINSPRINT.DAYS·7 DAYS1-4 OCTTIER2/3.USR·70%+NEW DEMATCOPS.IITBHU·ORGANIZERVARANASISURAKSHA·OPEN+∞FRAUD.INDEX·₹12,000CRDAILY LOSSDEMAT.ACC·16CR++22% YOYF&O.LOSERS·9/10SEBI DATATRACK.A·FRAUD.RESOPENTRACK.B·GRIEVANCEOPENTRACK.C·EDU.BHARATOPENTRACK.D·BEH.RESILOPENTRACK.E·MISMATCHOPENPRIZE.POOL·TBATOP 3 WINSPRINT.DAYS·7 DAYS1-4 OCTTIER2/3.USR·70%+NEW DEMATCOPS.IITBHU·ORGANIZERVARANASI
7
Day Sprint
Build period
5+1
Tracks
Open to all
16CR+
Demat Accs
The scale
9/10
F&O Losers
SEBI study
TOP 3
Awards
Prizes TBA
FREE
To Enter
No fee
01 / The Challenge
BUILD FOR BHARAT
India's retail investor base has grown at an unprecedented pace — Demat accounts crossed 16+ crore, with more than 70% of incremental accounts opening from non-metro, Tier-2, and Tier-3 cities. Access to markets has outrun access to financial confidence.
SEBI's own studies show 9 out of 10 individual traders in equity F&O incur net losses — a signal that market access alone is not building resilience.
02 / Mission
Build a technology-driven product that strengthens the financial resilience of Indian investors, with particular focus on users from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and emerging digital-finance users.
Detect Fraud
Educate Simply
Build Habits
Know Rights
03 / Constraints
WHAT NOT TO BUILD
This is a public-good hackathon, not a fintech pitch competition. Submissions violating these rules are disqualified regardless of technical quality.
No Commercial / Speculative Outcome
No stock tips, buy/sell/hold signals, price predictions, trading algorithms, or promotion of a specific instrument or broker.
No Monetisation Funnels
No broking commissions, margin-financing nudges, or paid subscription upsells directed at the user.
Privacy by Design
No unauthorised harvesting of SMS, OTPs, or personally identifiable financial records.
Public-Good Ethos
The product should read as investor-protection infrastructure, not a growth product.
04 / Challenge Tracks
5 TRACKS
+ 1 Open Innovation
Teams may pick one track, combine tracks, or enter the Open Track. Depth on one real user journey is valued over breadth.
TRK-A / TRACK A
Digital Fraud & Scam Resilience
+
Detecting, warning against, and intercepting deceptive financial vectors before money changes hands.
TRK-B / TRACK B
Investor Awareness, Rights & Grievance
+
Making investor rights, protections, and complaint mechanisms usable by a first-time user.
TRK-C / TRACK C
Investor Education for Bharat
+
Replacing jargon-heavy disclosures and static PDFs with understanding-first, regional-language learning.
TRK-D / TRACK D
Financial Habits & Behavioural Resilience
+
Helping investors pause, reflect, and build discipline instead of acting on impulse.
TRK-E / TRACK E
Misinformation & Content Literacy
+
Helping users evaluate the flood of financial content on WhatsApp, YouTube, and Telegram.
TRK-∅ / TRACK OPEN
Open Innovation for Investor Resilience
+
Any software solution that meaningfully strengthens investor resilience is welcome here.
05 / Schedule
HACKATHON
TIMELINE
Sep–Oct 2026. Pending council confirmation.
27–29 SEP
Promotion & Onboarding
Hackathon promotion across campuses; team registration.
30 SEP
Orientation
Teams are walked through the problem statement, tracks, and guardrails to align on scope.
01–04 OCT
Build Sprint
Teams work on their solution and prepare their submission.
05 OCT
Shortlisting
Top 5–7 teams are shortlisted from all submissions.
06 OCT
Final Jury Round
Shortlisted teams present before the jury.
07 OCT
Results
Top 3 teams announced, each giving a quick presentation of their work.
06 / Rewards
PRIZES &
RECOGNITION
◈
TBA
1st Place
To be announced
◇
TBA
2nd Place
To be announced
△
TBA
3rd Place
To be announced
Participation Certs
Signed by IIT BHU for all participants
Gifts
Goodies for all Techathon participants
Media Coverage
Winners featured in national publications
Network
Direct access to SEBI & NSDL officials
07 / Judging
EVALUATION
CRITERIA
Resilience & Safety Impact
Does the product measurably help a user avoid fraud, avoid loss, or build safer financial behaviour?
30%
Tier-2/3 Usability — Bharat-First
Regional-language support, low-bandwidth readiness, voice/visual UX, minimal cognitive load.
25%
Guardrail Compliance & Trust
Strictly non-commercial; no stock tips; transparent about uncertainty; user privacy preserved.
15%
Technical Execution
Technology (AI/ML, NLP, voice, on-device processing) used effectively rather than added for novelty.
15%
Feasibility & Scalability
Could this realistically extend beyond the hackathon into a tool used by real investors?
15%
08 / Submission
WHAT TO
SUBMIT
S.01
Product
A working prototype demonstrating core functionality.
S.02
Problem Definition
Who the target user is and what specific problem is solved.
S.03
Solution
How the product improves investor resilience.
S.04
Technology
Architecture, AI/ML components, data sources, key decisions.
S.05
Demonstration
A 3–5 minute demo showing a realistic user scenario.
S.06
Impact
Who benefits, what harm is reduced, scalability for Tier-2/3 India.
09 / Target Personas
WHO YOU
BUILD FOR
Praveen, 22
Tier-3 graduate / gig worker, new to trading
Drawn to Telegram F&O tips; trades on borrowed capital
Kavita, 39
Tier-2 homemaker managing family savings, not fluent in English
Intimidated by broking apps; susceptible to Ponzi / fake IPO schemes
Babulal, 63
Retired pensioner holding old/dormant folios
Unaware of nominee process; cannot navigate IEPF/SCORES portals
10 / FAQ
COMMON
QUESTIONS
Open to all college students across India. Teams of 2–4 members.
No. Participation is completely free.
No. Curiosity, empathy for the target user, and ability to build a working prototype are sufficient. The orientation session will help you align.
Yes. Any open-source or commercially available technology is allowed. Disclose third-party components in your submission.
Yes. All participants will receive a participation certificate signed by IIT BHU.
All intellectual property in submissions vests solely in NSDL upon submission, per the Terms & Conditions.
Shortlisted teams present before the jury on October 6. Top 3 teams are announced on October 7, each giving a brief demo.
Organised by & In collaboration with
Organiser
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Collaboration
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