Ministry of Communications press release · 20 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

DoT unveils 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 under 100 5G Use Case Labs Initiative

PRID2243209 MinistryMinistry of Communications Released20 March 2026 Reading11 min

5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 announced to foster next-generation telecom solutions National Hackathon to promote 5G, IoT and AI-led digital transformation Students, start-ups and MSMEs invited for 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 Government offers funding, lab access and IPR support to 5G innovators Initiative aims to boost indigenous development in next-generation technologies 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 offers prizes worth over ₹10 lakh Winning innovations to be showcased at India Mobile Congress 2026 Posted On: 20 MAR 2026 9:56PM by PIB Delhi The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, has launched the second edition of its flagship initiative, the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 , building on the encouraging response to the previous edition. Organised under the 100 5G Use Case Labs Initiative, the Hackathon seeks to catalyse the development of innovative and scalable solutions leveraging 5G and allied technologies. It invites participation from students, start-ups, MSMEs, and innovators across the country. Call for proposals The Hackathon will commence with a call for proposals from today (March 20, 2026), and submissions will remain open until April 17, 2026. Proposals will be received through the designated 100 5G Use Case Lab institutions, which will function as nodal centres. All entries will undergo a structured multi-stage evaluation process, including institute-level screening, regional committee assessment, national level evaluation based on presentations, prototype development support and final evaluations based on physical demonstrations. Seed funding and access to 5G labs Selected teams will be provided both financial and infrastructural support to convert their ideas into working prototypes. A dedicated seed funding pool of ₹50 lakh has been earmarked for this purpose. In addition, teams will have access to the advanced infrastructure available at the 100 5G Use Case Labs established across premier academic institutions for testing, validation, and refinement of their solutions. Prize pool exceeding ₹10 lakh and IPR support for innovators The Hackathon offers a total prize pool exceeding ₹10 lakh. The first prize carries ₹5,00,000, followed by ₹3,00,000 for the runner-up and ₹1,50,000 for the second runner-up, along with a special Best Idea award of ₹50,000. In addition, support for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) filing will be extended to up to 25 teams. The final results will be declared on October 1, 2026, and the selected innovations will be showcased and awarded at India Mobile Congress 2026. Wide-ranging thematic areas covering 5G, AI, IoT and network security Applications are invited across a broad spectrum of thematic areas, including 5G and 5G Advanced-based use cases, applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for telecom technology development as well as network operations and maintenance, and IoT-enabled applications in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, industrial automation and other key areas of the economy, 5G/5G Advanced-based applications for disaster management ,redcap user equipment, and fixed wireless access(FWA). Additional focus areas include Non-Terrestrial Networks and their integration with 5G/5G Advance systems , 5G use cases leveraging advanced network capabilities, including network slicing and Quality of Service and other native 5G features, and telecom security solutions for next-generation communication systems. Applications invited online through DoT portal Interested participants may submit their applications online at https://eservices.dot.gov.in/5ghackathon/ . This initiative reflects the Government’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening India’s telecom ecosystem. Follow DoT Handles for more: - X - https://x.com/DoT_India Insta- https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ == Fb - https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departmentoftelecom?si=DALnhYkt89U5jAaa **** NJ/ARJ (Release ID: 2243209) Visitor Counter : 9480 Read this release in: Urdu , हिन्दी Ministry of Communications DoT unveils 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 under 100 5G Use Case Labs Initiative 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 announced to foster next-generation telecom solutions National Hackathon to promote 5G, IoT and AI-led digital transformation Students, start-ups and MSMEs invited for 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 Government offers funding, lab access and IPR support to 5G innovators Initiative aims to boost indigenous development in next-generation technologies 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 offers prizes worth over ₹10 lakh Winning innovations to be showcased at India Mobile Congress 2026 Posted On: 20 MAR 2026 9:56PM by PIB Delhi The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, has launched the second edition of its flagship initiative, the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 , building on the encouraging response to the previous edition. Organised under the 100 5G Use Case Labs Initiative, the Hackathon seeks to catalyse the development of innovative and scalable solutions leveraging 5G and allied technologies. It invites participation from students, start-ups, MSMEs, and innovators across the country. Call for proposals The Hackathon will commence with a call for proposals from today (March 20, 2026), and submissions will remain open until April 17, 2026. Proposals will be received through the designated 100 5G Use Case Lab institutions, which will function as nodal centres. All entries will undergo a structured multi-stage evaluation process, including institute-level screening, regional committee assessment, national level evaluation based on presentations, prototype development support and final evaluations based on physical demonstrations. Seed funding and access to 5G labs Selected teams will be provided both financial and infrastructural support to convert their ideas into working prototypes. A dedicated seed funding pool of ₹50 lakh has been earmarked for this purpose. In addition, teams will have access to the advanced infrastructure available at the 100 5G Use Case Labs established across premier academic institutions for testing, validation, and refinement of their solutions. Prize pool exceeding ₹10 lakh and IPR support for innovators The Hackathon offers a total prize pool exceeding ₹10 lakh. The first prize carries ₹5,00,000, followed by ₹3,00,000 for the runner-up and ₹1,50,000 for the second runner-up, along with a special Best Idea award of ₹50,000. In addition, support for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) filing will be extended to up to 25 teams. The final results will be declared on October 1, 2026, and the selected innovations will be showcased and awarded at India Mobile Congress 2026. Wide-ranging thematic areas covering 5G, AI, IoT and network security Applications are invited across a broad spectrum of thematic areas, including 5G and 5G Advanced-based use cases, applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for telecom technology development as well as network operations and maintenance, and IoT-enabled applications in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, industrial automation and other key areas of the economy, 5G/5G Advanced-based applications for disaster management ,redcap user equipment, and fixed wireless access(FWA). Additional focus areas include Non-Terrestrial Networks and their integration with 5G/5G Advance systems , 5G use cases leveraging advanced network capabilities, including network slicing and Quality of Service and other native 5G features, and telecom security solutions for next-generation communication systems. Applications invited online through DoT portal Interested participants may submit their applications online at https://eservices.dot.gov.in/5ghackathon/ . This initiative reflects the Government’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening India’s telecom ecosystem. Follow DoT Handles for more: - X - https://x.com/DoT_India Insta- https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ == Fb - https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departmentoftelecom?si=DALnhYkt89U5jAaa **** NJ/ARJ (Release ID: 2243209) 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 announced to foster next-generation telecom solutions National Hackathon to promote 5G, IoT and AI-led digital transformation Students, start-ups and MSMEs invited for 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 Government offers funding, lab access and IPR support to 5G innovators Initiative aims to boost indigenous development in next-generation technologies 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 offers prizes worth over ₹10 lakh Winning innovations to be showcased at India Mobile Congress 2026" /> The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, has launched the second edition of its flagship initiative, the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026, building on the encouraging response to the previous edition. Organised under the 100 5G Use Case Labs Initiative, the Hackathon seeks to catalyse the development of innovative and scalable solutions leveraging 5G and allied technologies. It invites participation from students, start-ups, MSMEs, and innovators across the country. Call for proposals The Hackathon will commence with a call for proposals from today (March 20, 2026), and submissions will remain open until April 17, 2026. Proposals will be received through the designated 100 5G Use Case Lab institutions, which will function as nodal centres. All entries will undergo a structured multi-stage evaluation process, including institute-level screening, regional committee assessment, national level evaluation based on presentations, prototype development support and final evaluations based on physical demonstrations. Seed funding and access to 5G labs Selected teams will be provided both financial and infrastructural support to convert their ideas into working prototypes. A dedicated seed funding pool of ₹50 lakh has been earmarked for this purpose. In addition, teams will have access to the advanced infrastructure available at the 100 5G Use Case Labs established across premier academic institutions for testing, validation, and refinement of their solutions. Prize pool exceeding ₹10 lakh and IPR support for innovators The Hackathon offers a total prize pool exceeding ₹10 lakh. The first prize carries ₹5,00,000, followed by ₹3,00,000 for the runner-up and ₹1,50,000 for the second runner-up, along with a special Best Idea award of ₹50,000. In addition, support for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) filing will be extended to up to 25 teams. The final results will be declared on October 1, 2026, and the selected innovations will be showcased and awarded at India Mobile Congress 2026. Wide-ranging thematic areas covering 5G, AI, IoT and network security Applications are invited across a broad spectrum of thematic areas, including 5G and 5G Advanced-based use cases, applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for telecom technology development as well as network operations and maintenance, and IoT-enabled applications in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, industrial automation and other key areas of the economy, 5G/5G Advanced-based applications for disaster management ,redcap user equipment, and fixed wireless access(FWA). Additional focus areas include Non-Terrestrial Networks and their integration with 5G/5G Advance systems , 5G use cases leveraging advanced network capabilities, including network  slicing and Quality of Service and other native 5G features, and telecom security solutions for next-generation communication systems. Applications invited online through DoT portal Interested participants may submit their applications online at <a href="https://eservices.dot.gov.in/5ghackathon/." target="_blank">https://eservices.dot.gov.in/5ghackathon/.</a> This initiative reflects the Government’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening India’s telecom ecosystem. <table border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="Table" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:450.8pt"> Follow DoT Handles for more: - X - <a href="https://x.com/DoT_India" target="_blank">https://x.com/DoT_India</a> Insta-  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ</a>== Fb - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia</a> Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departmentoftelecom?si=DALnhYkt89U5jAaa   </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> **** NJ/ARJ " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); return html; } function stripHtml(html) { let tmp = document.createElement("DIV"); tmp.innerHTML = CleanHtml(html); return tmp.textContent || tmp.innerText || ""; } $(document).ready(function () { //for responsive tables $("table").each(function () { if (!$(this).closest(".table-responsive").length) { $(this).wrap(" "); } }); var width = $(window).width(); if (width $(document).ready(function () { var width = $(window).width(); if (width @media print { .sticky-social, .sticky-social_mb, .pull-right, #printPDF { display: none !important; } } .f_vl { padding-right: 30px; font-size: 17px; cursor: pointer; } .log_oo { // width: 20%; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .log_oo img { width: 150px; /*width: 100%; height: auto;*/ } .sticky-social_mb { position: fixed; bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 100%; } .social_mb { list-style: none; display: flex; width: 100%; margin-bottom: -8px; } .social_mb a { padding: 8px 0px; font-size: 30px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; width: 20% !important; text-align: center; } .section1 { position: relative; padding: 10px 0px; width: 100%; } .sticky-social { position: fixed; top: 20px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; } .social { list-style: none; } .social a li { padding: 8px 12px; font-size: 25px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; } .social a li:hover { margin-right: -30px; box-shadow: 2px 5px 10px grey; } .social a li:hover .fa { margin-left: 20px; } .fb_b { /* background-color: rgb(59, 89, 152);*/ background-color: rgba(65,103,178,255); } .twitter_r { /* background-color: rgb(29, 161, 242);*/ background-color: #000000; } .whatsapp_r { /* background-color: rgb(77, 194, 71);*/ background-color: rgba(13,191,67,255); } .fa-envelope_r { /* background-color: rgb(219, 68, 55);*/ background-color: #e2123d; } .fa-linkedin_r { background-color: rgb(0, 119, 181); } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 767px) { p span img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } p img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } h2 { font-size: 20px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } h3 { font-size: 18px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } } /* === Film Roll Badge Styling(IFFI2025 countdown) === */ .film-roll-badge { position: absolute; top:82%; right: 20px; width: 230px; height: 70px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 18px, #6e2b8b 18px, #6e2b8b 36px ); border-top: 8px solid #9a2375; border-bottom: 8px solid #9a2375; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); animation: moveFilm 8s linear infinite; z-index: 10; } /* film sprocket holes */ .film-roll-badge::before, .film-roll-badge::after { content: ""; position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 10px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 10px, #fff 10px, #fff 20px ); left: 0; z-index: 2; } .film-roll-badge::before { top: -4px; } .film-roll-badge::after { bottom: -4px; } .film-roll-inner { position: relative; height: 100%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; animation: flicker 2s infinite ease-in-out; } .countdown-text { font-size: 1.3rem; font-weight: 700; color: #fff; text-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4), 0 0 10px #000; white-space: nowrap; } /* === Animations === */ @keyframes moveFilm { 0% { background-position: 0 0; } 100% { background-position: 120px 0; } } @keyframes flicker { 0%, 100% { opacity: 1; } 50% { opacity: 0.9; } 25% { opacity: 0.95; } 75% { opacity: 0.85; } } /* === Responsive Adjustments === */ @media (max-width: 1500px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 68%; right: 18px; /* width: 220px; */ height: 65px; font-size: 0.85rem; } .press-section { margin-top: 35px; } } @media (max-width: 992px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 52%; right: 10px; width: 200px; height: 60px; } } @media (max-width: 768px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 56%; right: 10px; width: 124px; height: 55px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.9rem; } } @media (max-width: 576px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 59%; right: 5px; /* width: 160px; */ height: 50px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.85rem; } } const festivalStart = new Date("2025-11-20T00:00:00").getTime(); const festivalEnd = new Date("2025-11-28T23:59:59").getTime(); const countdownElement = document.getElementById("countdown"); const interval = setInterval(() => { const now = new Date().getTime(); // BEFORE FESTIVAL — show days + hours left if (now = festivalStart && now el.style.width = "350px"); clearInterval(interval); } }, 1000); //

Original PIB release
pib.gov.in · PRID 2243209

Open on PIB ↗

DoT unveils 5G Innovation Hackathon 2026 under 100 5G Use Case Labs Initiative

More from this day