Telangana IT Minister Inaugurates Elan & nVision 2026, South India’s Largest Techno-Cultural Fest at IIT Hyderabad

Highlights

• Festival kickoff: Elan & nVision 2026 at IIT Hyderabad marks the 17th edition of South India’s largest student-run techno-cultural festival.
• Scale: Over 30,000 students participate across three days of technology competitions, innovation showcases, and cultural performances.
• Headliners & summit: Shri Mohit Chauhan performs; debut of nVisionX’26 Tech Summit focused on Sustainability and Green Energy.

Elan & nVision 2026, the 17th edition of IIT Hyderabad’s flagship techno-cultural festival and South India’s largest student-run fest, was inaugurated today in the Institute by the Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology, Government of Telangana, Sri D. Sridhar Babu. The three-day festival, being held from January 9 to 11, 2026 brings together over 30,000 Students, Innovators, Artists, and Young Entrepreneurs from across the country, featuring high-impact technology competitions, innovation showcases, cultural performances and thought-provoking dialogues that reflect IIT Hyderabad’s vibrant student ecosystem.

Addressing the gathering, the Hon’ble Minister Sri D. Sridhar Babu said:

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A Celebration of Technology, Culture and Youthful Innovation, guided by this year’s powerful theme, “The Last Ronin,” Elan & nVision 2026 symbolises resilience, independence and the relentless pursuit of excellence—values that resonate deeply with India’s next generation of innovators and leaders. The theme reflects the spirit of standing strong, forging new paths, and blending creativity with purpose.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said: “Elan & nVision embodies the spirit of IIT Hyderabad—where technology, creativity and culture come together to shape responsible innovators. The festival provides a platform for students to think beyond classrooms, collaborate across disciplines, and transform ideas into impactful solutions, aligned with our ethos of Inventing and Innovating in Technology for Humanity. This event happening subsequent to Innovation Day, first-ever Inter-IIT UG Innovation Meet (RISE 2026) conducted in our Institute very recently”

 

The inauguration ceremony featured a vibrant cultural programme, including a Kuchipudi dance performance by Nrityangana, Guinness World Records holders, celebrating India’s rich cultural heritage alongside contemporary student creativity.

High-Energy Competitions and Star Performances: Elan & nVision 2026 features an extensive lineup of technical competitions and innovation challenges:

• Tech competitions: Robotics contests, Hackathons, Enigma CTF, Design challenges.
• Hands-on workshops: Electric Vehicles, Generative AI, Robotics, and Cybersecurity.
• Outcomes: Engage with emerging technologies and real-world problem-solving for students from IITs and other institutions.

The cultural segment includes competitions in Dance, Music, Drama, Fine Arts and Literature, along with immersive performances by IIT Hyderabad’s student clubs and visiting college teams.

Adding star power to the celebrations, renowned Bollywood playback singer Shri Mohit Chauhan will headline the festival’s musical evenings, along with performances by Mr. Pranav Sharma, Mr. Anuj Rehan, Ms DJ Tasha, Ms. Shreya Baruah, The Deccan Project and Rapper Shivam, offering a dynamic mix of Bollywood, Indie, Electronic and Hip-Hop music.

nVisionX’26: A new tech summit on sustainability

A major highlight this year is the launch of nVisionX’26, a first-of-its-kind technology summit under Elan & nVision, scheduled for January 10, 2026. Focused on “Sustainability and Green Energy,” the summit brings together experts, innovators and young technologists to discuss solutions for Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development—reinforcing IIT Hyderabad’s leadership in socially relevant innovation.

With thousands of participants, cutting-edge competitions, cultural showcases and knowledge-driven dialogues, Elan & nVision 2026 once again positions IIT Hyderabad as a national hub where technology meets creativity, and ideas evolve into impact.

About Elan & nVision

Elan & nVision is the annual techno-cultural festival of IIT Hyderabad, now in its 17th edition, and is widely recognised as South India’s largest student-run festival. The fest uniquely integrates technology (nVision) and culture (Elan), offering platforms across Engineering, Innovation, Arts and Performance. Over the years, it has grown into a landmark event in the Indian collegiate calendar.

For updates, follow Elan & nVision on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

For more details, visit: https://elan.org.in/

About IIT Hyderabad:

IITH, established in 2008, has reached a respectable position in Academics, Research, Technology development, and Start-ups in a short span of 17 years. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025), IITH is ranked 7th among Engineering institutes (crossing a first-generation IIT this year), and is ranked 6th in Innovation, while it has maintained its rank within the top 10 Engineering Institutes ever since NIRF was launched. IITH is ranked 664th and 270th in the QS World and Asian University Rankings 2026, respectively (among the top 10% of global institutions in citations per faculty). IITH secured 46 positions by 31 faculties in the Global Top 2% Scientists World list 2025 released by Stanford University (SU) in collaboration with Elsevier across two categories. IITH has been striving for excellence with a motto of "Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH)".

With 340+ full-time Faculty, 360 non-teaching Staff and 5,700+ Students (PG+PhD Students accounting for about 60%), IITH has a strong research focus with 5260+ R&D Projects worth of Rs. 1650+ Cr (Rs. 335+ Cr funding in 2024-25, i.e. Rs. 1+ Cr per Faculty, one of the largest per capita funding among IITs), 12,890+ Publications, 2,48,580+ Citations, 154 h-index, 710+ Patents (249 Patents in 2025, making it 0.74 patents per faculty), and about 335+ Start-ups (that have generated 1100+ jobs with a revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr).