Decode SIH 2026

Decode SIH 2026 is India's largest student-led SIH Innovation Hackathon - a 50-day guided innovation journey where students build real Smart India Hackathon solutions with continuous mentorship from industry experts, SIH winners, and product leaders.

From decoding problem statements to building prototypes and delivering final presentations, every stage is designed to maximize your chances of becoming an SIH finalist or winner

🏆 SUCCESS STORY

Last Year, Decode SIH Participants Became Smart India Hackathon Winners.

One of the teams mentored through Decode SIH, including first-year engineering students, went on to become Smart India Hackathon 2025 Winners.

This Year, Your Team Could Be Next.

What's New This Year?

• Offline Grand Finale
• Internship & Placement Opportunities
• Cash Rewards Beyond SIH
• Exclusive Goodies & Merchandise
• Certificate of Participation for All Team Members Who Submit the Ideation Template
• Live Mentorship Sessions
• Top 80 Teams Advance to the Grand Finale
• AI-Powered SIH Preparation Toolkit
• Connect with 10,000+ Student Innovators

Your 50-Day Journey to SIH 2026

• 10 July — Registrations Open
• 1 August — Round 1 Idea Submission Begins
• 9 August — Registrations Close
• 11 August — Idea Submission Deadline
• 12 August — Top 80 Teams Announced
• 13 August - 3 September — Live Mentorship Sessions & Mid Review
• 5 September — Grand Finale (Offline • Delhi NCR & Bengaluru)

What You'll Learn

• Decode SIH Problem Statements
• Team Building
• Research & Validation
• Prototype Development
• AI Tools
• PPT & Presentation
• Mock Evaluation by Past SIH Judges
• Final Submission

Learn From

• SIH Winners
• Product Managers
• Software Engineers
• Startup Founders
• Industry Experts

Steps to Join a Team

Already have a team? Joining is simple:

1. Team Leader Invites Members - The team leader enters each team member’s email address in the “Invite” field.
2. Members Receive an Invitation - Invited members receive a team invitation email containing the team details and unique team code.
3. Members Join the Team - Each member enters the unique Team Code (for example, ABCXYZ) in the “Join Team” field to officially join the team.

Eligibility Criteria

• ⁠Team Size: Each team must consist of 3–6 members (minimum 3 and maximum 6).
• Female Representation: At least one female member is mandatory in every team.
• Same Institute: All members must belong to the same institute, though they may be from different branches or academic years. Inter-college teams are not permitted.
• Student Status: All participants must be currently enrolled students.
• Eligible Programs: Open to undergraduate, postgraduate, and diploma students.

📊 Ideation PPT Template

Use the official Decode SIH 2026 Ideation PPT Template to structure your idea, define the problem, present your proposed solution, and prepare your submission.

👉 Access the Ideation PPT Template

Our Partners

Swytchcode - AI Integration Partner

About Swytchcode

Swytchcode is an AI-native development platform that enables developers to build intelligent applications and AI agents faster using powerful runtimes, APIs, developer tools, and integrated AI workflows.

Participant Benefits

Participants who create an account using the official Decode SIH referral link receive:

• US$100 in Swytchcode credits
• Access to tools for building AI-powered applications and agents

Best Use of Swytchcode Track

Teams must:

• Build their solution using the Swytchcode CLI
• Use the Python or TypeScript runtime
• Integrate at least two external APIs from the Swytchcode ecosystem
• Include an AI-powered workflow or AI agent
• Demonstrate a functional end-to-end application

Separate winners will be selected at the Delhi and Bengaluru Grand Finales. Each winner receives:

• US$1,000 in Swytchcode credits, valid for one year
• Dedicated Discord support from the Swytchcode engineering team
• Early access to upcoming Swytchcode features and releases

Hiring Benefits

Members of the winning teams across the three flagship tracks who use Swytchcode will receive Pre-Placement Interview opportunities:

• 🇮🇳 Bharat Shakti
• 🏙️ Bharat Nirman
• 🚀 Bharat Pragati

This applies at both Grand Finale venues, making six winning teams eligible for PPIs.

Swytchcode will also provide exclusive merchandise, goodies, and swag for winners across the three flagship tracks.

---

Codemate.ai - AI Development Partner

About Codemate.ai

Codemate.ai is an AI-powered developer platform that helps engineers write, understand, debug, optimize, and review code. It provides intelligent assistance throughout the software-development lifecycle.

Finalist Benefits

Every shortlisted or finalist team member receives:

• 15 days of Codemate Pro
• Access to premium AI-powered development, debugging, and optimization features

Flagship Track Winner Benefits

At both the Bengaluru and Delhi Grand Finales, the winning team from each flagship track receives:

• Pre-Placement Interview opportunities for every team member
• Three months of Codemate Pro for every team member

The eligible tracks are:

• 🇮🇳 Bharat Shakti
• 🏙️ Bharat Nirman
• 🚀 Bharat Pragati

A total of six winning teams will receive these benefits.

---

Render - Deployment Partner

About Render

Render is a modern cloud platform for building, deploying, and scaling applications. It supports web services, static sites, background workers, cron jobs, databases, object storage, and seamless Git-based deployments.

Finalist Benefits

Every shortlisted team receives:

• US$50 in Render credits
• Access to production-ready cloud infrastructure
• The ability to deploy and host its hackathon project on Render

Best Use of Render Track

To qualify, teams must:

• Deploy their project on Render
• Use more than one Render service—for example, a Web Service with PostgreSQL or a Static Site with a Background Worker

See the Render service-types documentation.

Track Prizes

Prizes will be awarded separately at both Grand Finale venues.

Bengaluru Grand Finale

• 🥇 First place: US$600 in Render credits
• 🥈 Second place: US$500 in Render credits
• 🥉 Third place: US$400 in Render credits

Delhi Grand Finale

• 🥇 First place: US$600 in Render credits
• 🥈 Second place: US$500 in Render credits
• 🥉 Third place: US$400 in Render credits

---

n8n - Automation Partner

About n8n

n8n is a workflow-automation platform that enables developers to connect applications, automate repetitive tasks, and build AI-powered workflows. It supports hundreds of integrations and allows users to create custom automations with little or no code.

Finalist Benefits

Every shortlisted or finalist team receives:

• One n8n Cloud Pro licence for one month, valued at approximately US$60
• Access to premium n8n Cloud features during the Grand Finale
• Tools for building workflow automations and AI agents

Best Use of n8n Track

To qualify, teams must:

• Integrate n8n into their hackathon project
• Demonstrate how workflow automation improves the project’s functionality, efficiency, or user experience

Track Prizes

A separate winning team will be selected at each Grand Finale venue.

Bengaluru Grand Finale

• One-year n8n Cloud Pro licence for every member of the winning team
• Exclusive n8n swag kits for the top three teams

Delhi Grand Finale

• One-year n8n Cloud Pro licence for every member of the winning team
• Exclusive n8n swag kits for the top three teams

Each annual n8n Cloud Pro licence is valued at approximately US$600.

---

Tavily - AI Search Partner

About Tavily

Tavily is a search API designed for AI agents and LLM-powered applications. It provides clean, structured, real-time search results optimized for machine consumption.

It can be used to build research assistants, RAG pipelines, autonomous AI agents, chatbots, and other applications that require live web information.

Finalist Benefits

Every shortlisted or finalist team member receives:

• 8,000 Tavily API credits
• The equivalent of two months of the Tavily Project Plan
• Benefits valued at approximately US$60 per participant

The credits can be used for AI search experiences, RAG applications, autonomous agents, research assistants, and related projects.

Best Use of Tavily Track

To qualify, teams must:

• Integrate Tavily APIs into their project
• Use real-time web search, AI retrieval, or knowledge augmentation
• Demonstrate a creative and impactful implementation

Track Prizes

• 🏆 First place: 10,000 Tavily API credits
• 🥈 Second place: 5,000 Tavily API credits
• 🥉 Third place: 3,000 Tavily API credits

Venue-wise prize distribution is pending confirmation from the Tavily team.

---

Startuped.ai - GTM & Innovation Partner

About Startuped.ai

Startuped.ai is an AI-powered Go-To-Market platform that helps founders, innovators, and student builders transform ideas into launch-ready products. It supports idea validation, market research, positioning, GTM planning, and product-launch execution.

Benefits for Participating Teams

Every participating team receives:

• One month of free Startuped.ai access
• 1,000 Startuped credits
• Tools for idea validation, market research, GTM strategy, positioning, and launch planning

Finalist Benefits

Selected shortlisted or finalist teams receive live GTM and product-strategy mentorship sessions, subject to the mentorship schedule and number of finalists.

Best GTM / Launch Strategy Award

To qualify, teams must demonstrate how Startuped.ai was used for:

• Idea validation
• Market research
• GTM planning
• Product positioning
• Launch strategy

Startuped Launchpad Challenge

Decode SIH 2026 will be hosted on Startuped Launchpad. Teams can earn XP through idea validation, GTM planning, product strategy, execution milestones, and platform engagement.

The top three teams receive:

• Best GTM / Launch Strategy certificates
• A feature on the Startuped.ai website

Overall Winner Benefits

The team demonstrating the strongest use of Startuped.ai receives:

• Cash prize of up to ₹25,000
• Two months of free Startuped.ai access
• 2,000 Startuped credits
• A dedicated product-strategy session with Ankit, Founder of Startuped.ai
• A featured episode on The Startuped Podcast
• A feature on the Startuped.ai website

The cash prize is an overall award and is not venue-specific.