India Tops World at Physics Olympiad 2026 — All Five Young Physicists Strike Gold in Colombia

India has achieved a historic milestone at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 in Bucaramanga, Colombia — all five members of Team India won Gold Medals, earning the nation a joint World No. 1 rank alongside China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the world’s most prestigious physics competition for pre‑university students, held annually since 1967. It brings together about 400 of the brightest young physicists from over 90 countries to compete in rigorous theoretical and experimental exams.

Event Highlights

• Event: 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026
• Venue: Bucaramanga, Colombia (4–12 July 2026)
• Participants: 381 students from 87 countries
• India’s Rank: Joint World No. 1 with six other nations
• Medal Tally: 5 Gold Medals — every Indian participant won gold

Gold Medal Winners

Student	City	State
Kanishk Jain	Pune	Maharashtra
Riddhesh Anant Bendale	Indore	Madhya Pradesh
Rishit Garg	Dwarka	New Delhi
Shresth Suraiya	Mumbai	Maharashtra
Svarit Joshi	Ahmedabad	Gujarat

Programme Behind India’s Success

The achievement underscores the strength of India’s Olympiad programme, led by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) — a National Centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

• HBCSE serves as India’s link to the international Olympiad community.
• Students are selected through a multi‑stage process including national exams, orientation camps, and intensive training.
• The Physics Olympiad Cell at HBCSE conducts pre‑departure and orientation camps to prepare students for rigorous theoretical and experimental rounds.

Voices of Pride

“Securing five Gold Medals and jointly attaining the World No. 1 rank is a testament to the talent, dedication, and scientific temperament of our students, and the unwavering commitment of the HBCSE‑TIFR Olympiad programme.”
— Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, DAE & Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission

“India’s consistent success in science and mathematics Olympiads reflects decades of mentoring and support from DAE, which has built a strong ecosystem for nurturing young scientific talent.”
— Prof Arnab Bhattacharya, Director, HBCSE

India’s Legacy of Excellence

Over the past decade, every Indian participant at IPhO has secured a podium finish — a record that demonstrates the country’s growing leadership in STEM education.

This year’s victory cements India’s status as a global hub for scientific training and innovation, inspiring future generations to pursue physics and research at the highest level.

India at IPhO: A Decade of Excellence

India has consistently delivered outstanding performances at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) over the past decade.

• 2016: Team India secured 2 Golds, 2 Silvers, and 1 Bronze in Switzerland.
• 2017: All five participants won medals (3 Golds, 2 Silvers) in Indonesia.
• 2018: India achieved 4 Golds and 1 Silver in Portugal.
• 2019: Landmark year with 5 Gold Medals in Israel.
• 2020: Online edition due to COVID‑19; India won 3 Golds and 2 Silvers.
• 2021: Online edition; India secured 4 Golds and 1 Silver.
• 2022: India won 5 Golds in Tokyo, Japan.
• 2023: Team India bagged 4 Golds and 1 Silver in France.
• 2024: India achieved 5 Golds in Kazakhstan.
• 2025: India won 4 Golds and 1 Silver in Iran.
• 2026: Historic sweep in Colombia: 5 Golds, joint World No. 1 rank.

Key Takeaways

• India has consistently won at least 4 Gold Medals every year since 2018.
• The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE‑TIFR) has been pivotal in training and mentoring students.
• India’s Olympiad programme reflects systematic talent identification, rigorous training, and government support via the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

ICICI Lombard & IIM Kozhikode Ignite Innovation with Season 4 Case‑Study Challenge on Account Aggregator Framework

• Receives 1,900+ Registrations from 35+ premier institutes of the country

ICICI Lombard, one of India's leading private general insurer, has concluded the Season 4 edition of its flagship business case-study competition, IL IGNITING MINDS, in collaboration with IIM Kozhikode – one of India's premier management institutes. Designed to give young innovators a real-world platform to solve meaningful industry challenges, the initiative received 1,900+ student registrations from 35+ unique premier institutes across India.

The theme for this year's challenge, "Leveraging the Account Aggregator (AA) Framework to Transform Insurance", invited students from IIMs and IITs to explore how the AA framework can reshape key insurance functions — Underwriting, Distribution, and Claims — across Health, Home, Motor, and SME Insurance verticals.

Launched under the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Account Aggregator framework enables individuals and businesses to securely and seamlessly share their financial data through a consent-based mechanism. While insurance is inherently a data-driven industry, insurers often face challenges in accessing accurate, timely, and comprehensive information during critical processes such as underwriting, distribution, and claims. Much of this relevant data — including income details, credit history, transaction patterns, and business performance — remains fragmented across multiple financial institutions. By enabling insurers, as Financial Information Users, to access customer-permitted data from Financial Information Providers through secure and consent-driven data sharing, the AA ecosystem holds significant potential to transform how insurance products are designed, distributed, and serviced.

Through this competition, ICICI Lombard sought to foster innovation, bridge the gap between academia and industry, discover strategic opportunities, and identify high-potential talent who can contribute to shaping the future of insurance in India. For participants, the competition offered a platform to apply analytical thinking, creativity, and business acumen to real-world challenges, gain exposure to the evolving insurance ecosystem, and collaborate with industry leaders driving digital transformation.

Building on past editions conducted with institutes such as IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, NMIMS, and IIT Bombay (E-Cell), the IIM Kozhikode edition marks yet another significant step in expanding the competition's reach across India's top campuses.

Ms. Sheena Kapoor – Head Marketing, Corporate Communications & CSR, ICICI Lombard, said, “Season 4 of IL Igniting Minds reaffirmed our belief that the future of insurance will be shaped by a powerful blend of technology, trust, and human insight. With over 1,900+ student registrations from 35+ premier institutions, including leading IIMs and IITs, we witnessed young minds engaging deeply with this year’s case study topic — ‘Leveraging the Account Aggregator Framework to Transform Insurance.’

What stood out was their ability to look beyond efficiency and focus on making insurance more accessible, intuitive, and relevant to people’s everyday financial lives. Their ideas reflected not just innovation, but also empathy and responsibility — qualities that will define the next chapter of the industry. For us, IL Igniting Minds is more than a competition; it is a window into the thinking and leadership of the next generation.”

IL Igniting Minds business case-study competition, Season 4 was conducted at ICICI Lombard Head Office, where the finalist teams had an opportunity to showcase their ideas to the senior management of the company.

IN-SPACe Model Rocketry/CANSAT India Student Competition 2024-25 to take place in Uttar Pradesh from October 27-30, 2025

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Astronautical Society of India (ASI), has announced the national-level Model Rocketry/CANSAT India Student Competition 2024-25, with the grand finale scheduled to take place on the banks of the Narayani River at Tumkuhiraj, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, from October 27–30, 2025.

The competition aims to provide students with a hands-on experience in designing, development, and launch of a model rocket that can deploy CANSAT (7U SAT) of 1 kg at 1Km altitude meeting the defined mission objectives. This will provide students opportunity to simulate real-world space missions and will also contribute in nurturing the next generation of Indian space professionals.

A total of 71 student teams, comprising around 600 students, faculty members, and mentors, have qualified for the national finale, with 36 teams in the CANSAT category and 35 teams in Model Rocketry. Participants represent universities and technical institutions from across India.

As part of the outreach leading up to the competition, IN-SPACe along with ISRO had launched the ‘Art-in-Space’ and ‘Space Quiz 20:20’ contests across seven districts of Uttar Pradesh — Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar, Jaunpur, Bahraich, Bulandshahr, and Gautam Buddha Nagar, witnessing an overwhelming response from nearly 73,000 students. This contest is being executed by Namaskar Foundation. Additionally, to ignite deep interest in Science and Tech amongst the students an “Antariksh Rath” equipped with rockets, satellites, astronaut’s suits and educational models is spreading awareness amongst students. Winners from these contests will be felicitated at the grand finale and will also experience an immersive space habitat module at the event venue.

L–R) Hon’ble Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Deoria) Shri Shashank Mani, and Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director (Promotion Directorate), IN-SPACe.

Shri Shashank Mani, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Deoria said, “It is an honour to host the CANSAT Model Rocket Competition in the Tamkuhi Raj area of Deoria Lok Sabha in Kushinagar District. This competition will excite the imagination of the region and seed a culture of space awareness. It aligns with the mission of Amrit Prayas our 10 year developmental strategy for the Lok Sabha, which seeks to use space technology in this region.”

Speaking on the initiative, Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe and Executive Secretary, ASI, said, “This competition reflects IN-SPACe’s commitment to fueling experiential learning and students' early engagement with space technology. By giving them real-world challenges to solve, we hope to build a strong foundation for India’s future scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who will contribute to our growing space economy. The support from the Uttar Pradesh government and Kushinagar district administration has been crucial in bringing this finale to life”

The competition’s mission objectives include the design, development, and launch of a model rocket and CANSAT carrying a 1 kg payload to an altitude of 1 km, followed by safe payload ejection, recovery, and landing. Through these challenges, students gain exposure to the fundamentals of rocketry, payload design, and mission management, along with key soft skills such as teamwork, project coordination, and problem-solving.

The Model Rocketry/CANSAT India Student Competition 2024-25 marks another step in IN-SPACe’s ongoing efforts to promote space education, skill development, and innovation at the grassroots level, aligning with the Government of India’s vision of building a self-reliant, $44 billion space economy by 2033.

India’s Excel Champion Aditya Darak to Represent Nation at MEWC 2025 in Las Vegas

Skyesports, in collaboration with the Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC) and supported by the Indian Digital Gaming Society (IDGS), has concluded the Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC) India Qualifier 2025. The tournament, powered by GIGABYTE, drew over 500 registrations nationwide, spotlighting India’s rising talent in data-driven problem solving and analytical excellence.

After multiple rounds of intense online qualifiers featuring complex, time-bound case-solving tasks in Microsoft Excel, Aditya Kumar Darak emerged as the national champion. He now secures a fully funded trip to Las Vegas, USA, where he will proudly represent India at the MEWC 2025 World Finals later this year, competing for international glory and a share of the $61,500 prize pool.

The six finalists who advanced to the decisive stage were:

1. Prithviraj Mavani
2. Mohammed Danish
3. Sourabh
4. Anup Agarwal
5. Aditya Kumar Darak
6. Vighnesh

Each finalist demonstrated exceptional skill in solving advanced problem scenarios, blending logic, speed, and creativity under pressure. Ultimately, Aditya’s precision and consistency saw him prevail against strong competition.

Commenting on his victory, Aditya Kumar Darak said, “Competing in the India Qualifier was an incredible experience. The challenges pushed us to think critically and act quickly, and I’m honoured to now represent India at the World Finals in Las Vegas.”

Shiva Nandy, Founder and CEO, Skyesports, said, “The Microsoft Excel World Championship India Qualifier is a unique esports tournament that challenges the traditional definition of competition. By putting problem-solving and analytical thinking in the spotlight, it bridges gaming and professional upskilling. We’re proud of Aditya’s achievement and look forward to supporting him as he represents India on the global stage.”

As the Powered By partner, GIGABYTE supported the esports initiative, enabling the qualifier and showcasing its commitment to a wide range of gaming and esports activities in India.

The MEWC India Qualifier underscores India’s growing reputation in global digital competitions, while aligning with national objectives around digital skill development and talent acceleration.

IN-SPACe with ASI & ISRO Introduces Model Rocketry Competition for Students

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), in collaboration with the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has launched the IN-SPACe Model Rocketry India Student Competition 2024-25 to create awareness and inspire technological talent in the field of rocketry among Indian students. This initiative supports the growth of a skilled STEM workforce with a specific emphasis on space technology.

The event, aimed at promoting innovation and technical expertise, has drawn participation from 86 student teams nationwide. After thorough evaluation and design reviews, 55 teams have advanced to attend the "Essentials of Model Rocketry Workshop," held in partnership with the Indian Air Force. The workshop is hosted at Air Force Station, Jalahalli (West), Bengaluru, from November 9 to 15, 2024.

The workshop was inaugurated by esteemed Chief Guest Padma Shri Dr. B N Suresh, Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, PD, IN-SPACe, Executive Secretary ASI who has conceptualized the Model Rocketry Workshop and other nationwide student competitions briefed the gathering on the workshop curriculum and importance of Model Rocketry.

Participants from all over the country will get a chance to gain a deep understanding of the fundamental principles behind model rocket design, propulsion systems, deployment and separation mechanisms, and mission design from industry leaders and academia from ISRO, VSSC, NGEs and IIST.

The inaugural session was also graced by AVM Premkumar Krishnaswami VM VSM, Commandant of the Weapon Systems School; Air Cmde Santhosh KP Hegde, AOC, AFS, Jalahalli; and Gp Capt. Santhosh Kumar Vayakodan, CO, CTI, AFS, Jalahalli.

Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, PD, IN-SPACe said, “This unique workshop will help to ignite the passion for space exploration among young people by giving them an insight into rocketry and space technology. The workshop has been envisioned to encourage children to learn and innovate through practical sessions. We believe that empowering these young innovators today will lead to their contributing to India's journey to a leadership position in the global space arena."

“As an Aerospace Combatant, I understand and recognize the importance of nurturing young minds for the future growth of space technologies. The aim of this workshop is to instill a culture of innovation and critical thinking, and inspire our youth to pursue a career in aerospace engineering, thereby contributing to our nation’s growth in this domain,” said Air Vice Marshal Premkumar Krishnaswamy.

This unique collaboration between IN-SPACe, ASI, ISRO, and the Air Force highlights India's commitment to building a new generation of space enthusiasts and Innovators.

About IN-SPACe:

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) is an autonomous nodal agency under Department of Space, Government of India formed on 24 June 2020 to promote, enable, authorize and supervise non-government entities (NGE) to undertake space activities. These activities include manufacturing of launch vehicles and satellites, providing space-based services, establishing a ground station, sharing of space infrastructure & facilities; and establishing new facilities under DOS.

IN-SPACe is currently functioning with three directorates viz., Promotion Directorate (PD), Technical Directorate (TD) and Program Management and Authorization Directorate (PMAD) and Legal, Finance and Administration Wing with its headquarters at Ahmedabad.

QuEST Global Announces Winners of 10th Edition of ‘Ingenium’

• Team from P.E.S. Institute of Technology, Bengaluru wins top honors for their software concept that detects Parkinson’s disease at an early stage
• Bennett University, Noida, and P.E.S. College of Engineering, Mandya teams recognized as first and second runners-up positions respectively
• Mentored by a dedicated team of industry experts from QuEST, the winning teams demonstrate innovative thinking that help solve real world challenges and pave the path for a better, safer and smarter world

QuEST Global, a global product engineering services company, announced the winners of the 10th annual ‘Ingenium’ competition. Ingenium is an initiative aimed at fostering innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset amongst engineering students. Through Ingenium, QuEST provides a platform for the young talent of India to apply their engineering skills to solve real world problems. This year’s winners are selected from over 6000 teams and were selected based on the uniqueness of their ideas, application into the real world, demonstrability and cost effectiveness.

We are happy to congratulate the P.E.S. Institute of Technology (PESIT), Bengaluru, for their first place win. PESIT’s Loganyaa Senthil, Niraj Anil Babar, and Rohan Pillai created a software proposition to aid doctors in the early detection of Parkinson's disease. It not only detects the disease but is also designed to predict the stage of the disease, helping doctors adopt the right course of treatment from an early stage.

Penumudy Tanvi and Vysyaraju Sampath Raju from Bennett University, Noida, and Manikant Amaresh Savadatti and Suryakantha from P.E.S. College of Engineering (PESCE), Mandya are the first and second runners-up respectively. Bennett University students developed solutions intended to effectively reduce the time of image search on the web. The second runners-up utilized artificial intelligence to create an advanced, cost effective robot that acts as an assistant to primary healthcare providers in hospitals. The robot helps reduce front line workers contact with patients by delivering medicines, basic health monitoring and delivering audio and video messages.

Speaking on the announcement Shrikant Naik, Global Head – Delivery, QuEST Global said, "Ingenium demonstrates QuEST’s commitment to investing in people and our community by providing young engineering talent a platform for experiential learning. The creativity, resiliency and uniqueness of the ideas presented by the students fuels my belief in the young engineering talent of our country. I appreciate our sponsors, Wabtec Corporation, India, and Ingersoll Rand Technologies and Services Private Limited for their shared vision in nurturing young engineers and helping to provide a platform to showcase talent.”

Mr. Yogesh Kumar, Vice President – Technology & India Engineering, Wabtec Corporation, said, “Innovation is the core belief of Wabtec. We have partnered with QuEST for Ingenium as it amplifies that belief and it is one of the key drivers for our strong relationship with the company. I am overwhelmed to see the depth and breadth of ideas coming from our young minds. These have true potential to solve complex problems of tomorrow across industries. Congratulations to all the winners and participants!”

“It feels great partnering with QuEST and making life better for communities around us. I am delighted to witness the next generation of engineers work on unique ideas that utilize technological advancements for the benefit of the society. Makes me feel proud of the students who participated. We wish all the winners the very best for their future.” added Mr. Ramesh KV, Engineering Director, IRETC, Ingersoll Rand Technologies and Services Private Limited.

Ingenium demonstrates the company’s commitment to successfully utilize its engineering expertise to bridge the industry-academia gap and create a pool of a skilled workforce who will eventually help bridge the skill gap that currently looms over the industry. For the past 10 years, this annual forum has provided an opportunity to identify, support and nurture the skills of engineering students and help them live their dream of bringing their ideas to life.

About QuEST Global:

For nearly 25 years, QuEST Global has been a trusted global product engineering services partner to many of the world’s most recognized companies in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Healthcare and Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. With a presence in 13 countries, 54 global delivery centers and 12,000+ personnel, QuEST Global is at the forefront of the convergence of the mechanical, electronics, software, and digital engineering innovations to engineer solutions for a safer, cleaner, and sustainable world. QuEST Global’s deep domain knowledge and digital expertise help its clients accelerate product development and innovation cycles, create alternate revenue streams, enhance consumer experience, and make manufacturing processes and operations more efficient.

Avishkaar Announces Winners of World's Largest Robotics & Coding Competition 2020

Winners unveiled to mark the end of Avishkaar League 2020, world’s largest robotics and coding competition hosted by Avishkaar, India’s leading EdTech platform for children

Avishkaar League, the world's largest robotics and coding competition for children, is a unique challenge for children to tinker, innovate and develop solutions through robotics and coding for real-world problems. Avishkaar League 2020 was conducted during April to August, and the theme - 'Guardians of Nature' - was designed to push young minds to think of innovative solutions to solve global challenges.

Shreshta Singhal, 10-year-old from Presidium, Indirapuram has emerged as one of the “Guardians Of Nature” who used Robotics to create a contact-less water dispenser that can curb the spread of the pandemic. He was the first prize winner in Hackathon, a challenge in Avishkaar League, world’s largest robotics and coding competition.

The guest of honor of this year was Dr. Ritesh Malik; a doctor turned entrepreneur who is the Founder of  Innov8 Co-working spaces. In 2016, he was listed in the Forbes under 30 in the finance and venture list for Asia. 

The next generation of children who are builders, innovators, programmers are applying all their tech skills to solve the global challenges that humanity faces. Some of the other solutions that emerged in the league were— an earthquake detector, automatic liquid dispensers, contactless sanitizer dispensers.

This year the Avishkaar League, world’s largest robotics and coding competition,  showcased three competitions— IRC League (Season 11), Hackathon, and Tweak League. The idea was to create a defense mechanism against the deadly virus attack by using a PC as the battleground. The best part about this league was that it was open to all kids over the globe. The Finale took place virtually on a Live Stream through Avishkaar’s YouTube channel.  

Tarun Bhalla (Founder, CEO Avishkaar) graced the event with a thoughtful message for all the participants. His words, “Test of fire makes great steel” will stay with the young minds as they continuously test themselves amongst the best in the world.

Mr. Tarun also empowered the kids to learn a music instrument, hone their skills, take up new projects, innovate, and create, especially now.

Dr. Ritesh Malik motivated kids to learn and adapt to new ways of life. Adding to that, he also said, “Focus on moral creation of wealth, focus on health, develop skills, focus on creating positive exposures, and learn technology as soon as possible.”

The winners of the Avishkar League were announced soon after the speech and here are the winners of Avishkaar league, 2020— 

Tweak League

Akshay Pandya, DAV Public School, Anmol Patel, Modern Era Public School, Sana Rao, Shikshantar Primary School 

Hackathon

Shreshta Singhal, Presidium, Indirapuram, Arjun Manocha, DL DAV Model School, Hrishikesh Kelkar, Sister Nivedita English Medium School

IRC League

Vaibhav Sahni, Scottish High International School, Ray Verma, Scottish High International School, Divit Chopra, Scottish High International School

Winner of Hackathon 2020, Shreshta Singhal shares his experience as he says, “I am proud to be the winner of this championship. It was a great learning experience. I am just in grade 5, and coding is new to me. Thanks to my trainers and my parents and especially to Avishkaar because I got hands-on experience in coding through Maker Board.”

Shreshta’s parents were delighted to know that their son secured the first place in the competition, and they also shared their thoughts about the Avishkaar League. “We are so proud of our son. He used to work till late at night to ensure that the model works perfectly, and all his efforts paid off. Huge credit goes to Avishkaar for helping kids to learn to code and apply it in real-life scenarios. Especially contactless sanitizer dispensers which are the need of the hour now can be made using this technology. We’re thankful to Avishkaar for making this possible.”

Akshay Pandya, DAV Public School, said, “I am excited to be the winner of Tweak League.” His parents were equally proud of his achievement. “I am thankful to Avishkaar to make my son’s dream come true,” they said. 

Avishkaar, India's leading EdTech platform for children, is transforming how children learn 21st-century skills such as coding, robotics, AI, IoT and more. Founded by Tarun Bhalla in 2010, Avishkaar offers award-winning robotics kits and live online expert classes for children from 5 years to 16 years to help develop skills such as computational thinking, problem-solving, logical thinking etc. Avishkaar support more than 1100 schools including The Shri Ram School, Sanskriti, DPS and 50,000 children across the globe in their journey to be future-ready. The platform includes award-winning robotics kits such as E-series, Tweak, and Maker Board, personalised adaptive live courses designed by experts from Microsoft, IIT etc. and active community of young innovators.

Internshala Trainings launches The Data Science Challenge for Students

With the expansion of data analytics industry across India, data science has become the hottest industry to work, offering opportunities in data analytics, data engineering, machine learning, business analytics, and data science. In a bid to encourage the students of India to learn this top in-demand skill and build a career in data science, Internshala Trainings has launched The Data Science Challenge. The students can apply for this contest by 5th June 2019.

During this challenge, the participating students will be undergoing a 6-week online training and learn data science from scratch. In this training, the students will be given a comprehensive introduction to data science and will be taught the basics of python, statistics, predictive modeling, and machine learning through video tutorials.

The students will also be getting a hands-on learning experience with various assignments, assessment tests, and quizzes. On completion of the training, the students will be required to create and submit a project and the top 3 contestants will be awarded with cash rewards worth INR 65,000.

On the launch of this content, Sarvesh Agrawal. The founder and CEO of Internshala said, “The production of an enormous amount of data every minute, has given rise to the need of professionals who can organise this data and provide well-informed and innovative business solutions. This is a promising trend for the students to learn this hot in-demand skill and pursue a career in data science”.

He further added, ”Through this contest, we aim to inspire the students of India to add this coveted skill in their resume and pursue the ample opportunities being created everyday in the field of data science”.

For more details or to participate in the challenge, visit: http://bit.ly/D-Sci

India and Richard Branson's Nonprofit together Launch Global Cooling Technology Competition worth $3 Mn

Government of India's Ministry of science and technology, along with Mission Innovation and Richard Branson founded nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, has launched The Global Cooling Prize, a two-year-long international competition prized at US$3 million to find breakthrough innovations in cooling technology and in particularly residential cooling technology.

According to a report, released by Rocky Mountain Institute at the launch, growing economies like India, China, and other south-east Asian countries, people tend to make three major purchases first: a TV, a refrigerator, and an air conditioner (AC). The number of AC units are projected to grow massively from today's 1.2 billion worldwide to 4.5 billion by 2050, and according the report household AC units alone, could push global warming up half a degree by the end of the century.

Calling all RAC manufacturers, engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, or start-ups to apply and join the revolution to provide cooling to all -- without warming the planet -- The Global Cooling Prize competition is designed to provide an incentive to create higher-efficiency air conditioners and support startups in a field that’s currently dominated by a handful of major corporations.

A winning technology could prevent up to 100 gigatons of carbon emissions by 2050, and put the world on a pathway to mitigate up to 0.5˚C of global warming by 2100, according to the report.

To participate, companies/startups need to submit a solution that has five times less climate impact than a standard air conditioner, at no more than twice the cost, so it has a payback period of less than four years.

Over US$3 million will be awarded over the course of the two-year competition.

Up to 10 short-listed competing technologies will be awarded up to $200,000 each in intermediate prizes to support the design and prototype development of their innovative residential cooling technology designs. The winning technology will be awarded at least $1 million to support its incubation and early-stage commercialization.

The prize is supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) under Government of India and Mission Innovation (MI) -- a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union for clean energy innovation, and will be administered by Rocky Mountain Institute, Conservation X Labs, Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, and CEPT University. The Prize coalition will help identify the innovative cooling technology and support incubation, commercialization, and ultimately mass adoption around the world.

Besides India's DST, its partner organisations will also support the competition, and these include Ministry of Power, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, .

This global collaboration of India will drive and support incubation, commercialization, and ultimately mass adoption of the breakthrough technology, starting in India and expanding to other countries around the world.

"A technology developed through the Global Cooling Prize has the opportunity to capture a US$20 billion market and transform the global market for the better," said Iain Campbell, Senior Fellow, Rocky Mountain Institute.

It may also be recalled that in February this year, science & technology minister Harsh Vardhan had announced that the ministry is planning to launch India's first international incubator to promote innovation in the field of clean energy and provide opportunities to innovators across the MI countries to test their technologies in the local market.

According to a latest World Bank report, "Rising temperatures and changing monsoon rainfall patterns from climate change could cost India 2.8 percent of GDP and depress the living standards of nearly half the country's population by 2050."



Source - PRNewswire, Business Line

FTC Announces $25,000 Prize Money For Suggesting Ideas on How To Make ‘IoT’ More Secure

While IoT devices keep climbing the popularity charts and becoming more intrusive parts of our daily lives, the other thing which is growing at an almost equal pace along with it is the security and privacy concern associated with these internet-connected devices. In order to counter this, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a $25,000 Internet of Things Home Inspector Challenge.

The basic concept behind coming up with the challenge is to encourage people to create a technical solution that home consumers could easily make use of protect themselves from the security vulnerabilities in their IoT devices. While the winner walks away with a price of $25,000, the three runner-up teams will also get $3,000 each.

According to tech experts, poor security is emerging to be a huge challenge because of poor design and human nature. A lot of devices currently in the market aren't designed well, when we see them from a security point of view of its users. For example: when it comes to passwords, many devices comes with very basic, universal, or completely absent default ones. In fact, there are even some devices that are hard-coded to accept only one password-or worse have none at all.

In the recent past, incidents of cars, security cameras and printers etc. being accessed remotely for criminal purposes or just to prove a point to someone have become a common news.

As far as human nature is concerned, all they expect these devices to do is to function smoothly. Let's take an example of something as common as home router, if the device is already out dated and vulnerable even even before it is taken out of the box, a majority of consumers neither know that they are required to update it nor, even if they do, how. The same can be extended to cars, door locks, watches, light bulbs, refrigerators, and more devices that would require non-automatic update, which most human beings simply won’t bother to do it. Instead they would prefer selling it and completely forgetting about it.

Hence, FTC aims to solve these two main challenges with the Internet of Things Home Inspector Challenge.

According to a statement given by FTC’s consumer protection bureau head Jessica Rich, every day American consumers are offered innovative new products and services to make their homes smarter. Now, the consumers not only want these devices to be smart but also to be secure. So, this is the reason that FTC has now turned to the public to help them in keeping these devices software up-to-date.

FTC will be accepting applications for the challenge from March 1 to May 22, 2017. After the first round of the competition concludes, up to 20 first-round submissions will be selected for further review and judging.

Secure A Job In Silicon Valley By Playing This Coding Game

With the changing times, it comes as no surprise that the norms of hiring and requirement have also changed. A prime example of this is CodeFights, an online game that is offering programming enthusiasts a chance to polish their skills and get discovered by Silicon Valley giants. An excellent way to amp up your skills and career at the same time, right?

This exactly what happened to London based James Johnston. In a statement given to CNNMoney, Johnston discloses that he discovered CodeFights through a Facebook advertisement in June this year, and was hooked. After playing the coding challenges for two nights in a row, he got a pop-up message asking if he would be interested in looking at new job opportunities. After he ticked yes, he got a call directly from CodeFights founder and CEO, Tigran Sloyan, to take forward the discussion about potential job opportunities.

After going through a number of interviews, Johnston landed up a job at startup named Thumbtack, that's currently valued at more than $1 billion. In addition to him landing the job, he also got a stake in the business.

Launched in the year 2014, San Francisco-based CodeFights has successfully managed to register a whopping 500,000 users by now. Since the platform is absolutely free to use, the game has become a massive hit among programmers. The best of the CodeFights players are then chosen by the startup for various job opportunities and introduced to prospective employers.

According to the startup, as many as 200 firms are using the platform to find new recruits as their own return on investment is a lot better with CodeFights since all of these people have already been vetted for their technical skills.

The startup charges companies recruiting through them a fee that's equivalent to 15% of the annual salary of the employee that is hired through the platform. This means, if an employee hired through the platform will draw a salary worth $100,000 per year, CodeFights would get $15,000 as a fee from the firm. Though the 15% fee might seem a little steep in theory, but according to the companies that have already hired through the platform it is totally worth it.

Seeing the great growth potential that the startup holds, it comes as no surprise that it recently raised $10 million to fuel its expansion. Further, Microsoft's former head of corporate strategy Charlie Songhurst, is also slated to join CodeFights' board of directors soon.

Startup Dosti: Indo-Pak Business Plan Competition 2014 all set to begin

Startup Dosti: Indo-Pak Business Plan Competition is a contest like business plan competition aimed at involving startups in India and Pakistan which are currently in their initial stages. The competition has been initiated by the Dosti partnership, which is a result of cross border partnership between SEED ventures and the Atlantic Council. The partnership aims at encouraging trust and greater collaborations between the business communities of the two nations.

The Dosti partnership recently concluded the business plan competition, which is one of its most important events on 30th April in Chiang Mai, Thailand by selecting its three winners. The entire competition was shot in the form of a reality show. It had 12 contestants and five judges from both India and Pakistan. The judges even played the role of investors. The reality show has been named “The Rising Entrepreneur” and is expected to hit the television screens of both the nations most probably before August 2014.

The competition has proved to be a great learning experience for its participants as they received specially and individually designed mentorship from experienced and well established entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors from both the countries. They also got a once in a lifetime opportunity to earn seed funding and free incubation in both the nations for three to six months. They were even made available with a network of entrepreneurs who helped them in accomplishing their business plans and ideas.

The contest was open to all early-stage startups based in Pakistan and India. The deadline for applications was 20th December, 2013. Even concept stage startups that were planning to launch themselves within 3 months of applying were also allowed to apply and contest in the competition. The competition was only open to people under 35 years of age. While startups having an element of cross border were preferred, it was not a necessity for applying.

The last and final round of the competition will see the contestants pitching business plans to an experienced panel of investors from both the nations and the diaspora. The whole reality show has been produced in partnership with GEO TV in Pakistan and CNBC in India.

Indian Finalists

Zuarinagar, Goa based Changemaker.be - a platform aimed at empowering NGOs on multiple fronts such as funding and access to human resources to carry out their projects. The startup is founded by value-driven youngsters all in their early 20s namely - Chaitali Pandit,  Abhijith Asok, Rishabh Makharia, and Kunal Bajpai.

Bangalore based Green Nerds Solutions works in area of clean technology space and provide innovated solutions for waste management, specifically segregation and processing such as waste to energy or waste to fertilizer. Its primary innovation is the ‘Automatic Garbage Mould’ that range from five to 12 ton capacity to enable segregation and conversion of waste into reusable substances and help you reduce the waste quantity up to 75%, and ensure minimal rejects to landfill thus reducing the space utilized for garbage dump yards which can be converted to gardens/green space. The company was founded in 2011 by 40-year-old Nidhish Shetty.

New Delhi based Mobile Harvest Solutions is a social startup in education and healthcare sector that uses mobile applications in the rural areas. The startup developed tools that are used by various organizations and are targeted on large scale of users for information dissemination, training, feedback and communication in the areas of governance, healthcare and education. This startup is also founded by young entrepreneurs Sachin Gaur (30), Jayvardhan Jaju (30), and Prashanth Pattabiraman (27).

Mumbai based Vishwas is a social enterprise startup in the space of healthcare delivery targeted to both patients and doctors. The company has created an IT platform that allow content sharing, real-time epidemiological monitoring, and crowdsourcing ideas for community development of physicians. Vishwas has also developed an android application that runs on a tablet, exclusively catering to the needs of family doctors in low-resource, high-volume settings. The startup is also on verge of developing first-of-its-kind community portal for doctors and patients that will display real-time trends of diseases in the population, and allow for crowdsourcing content and social networking for doctors community.

Jodhpur based Zostel Hospitality is a startup that work for tourism & accommodation sector , it have a chain of hostels that offer hygienic, secure, centrally located and affordable accommodation to budget travelers targeted to young travelers and backpackers who are looking star hotel alternatives.

Pakistan Finalists

Lahore based bio-tech startup Bu Technologies designed a low-cost human brain controlled prosthetic hand for upper limb disabled persons which functions like a hand of any normal human being. This prosthetic hand uses muscle pressure technology with microprocessors that can sense, feel, and even automatically tighten when necessary.

Another Lahore based startup Plant4Plants provides investment, consultancy, rehabilitation and market relationship services to owners of waterlogged areas, they offer Rs. 40,000 per hectare to the owners to grow eucalyptus which sucks water and cures such land and in turn its pulp is used as a raw material in the paper and pulp industry.So far, over 1,236 acres of land has been recovered for agricultural use.

Karachi based KG Hub is a startup in the publishing industry which makes comics books and provides content for marketing purposes to various FMCG and agencies.
The History Project, curates books on significant events and shared conflict on both sides of the border - India and Pakistan. The startup collects and collates facts from textbooks, juxtaposes them, and introduces them to students through interactive presentations, highlighting embedded stereotypes. The project is founded by  Qasim Aslam and Ayyaz Ahmad.



 

Startup Dosti: Indo-Pak Business Plan Competition 2014 all set to begin

Startup Dosti: Indo-Pak Business Plan Competition is a contest like business plan competition aimed at involving startups in India and Pakistan which are currently in their initial stages. The competition has been initiated by the Dosti partnership, which is a result of cross border partnership between SEED ventures and the Atlantic Council. The partnership aims at encouraging trust and greater collaborations between the business communities of the two nations.

The Dosti partnership recently concluded the business plan competition, which is one of its most important events on 30th April in Chiang Mai, Thailand by selecting its three winners. The entire competition was shot in the form of a reality show. It had 12 contestants and five judges from both India and Pakistan. The judges even played the role of investors. The reality show has been named “The Rising Entrepreneur” and is expected to hit the television screens of both the nations most probably before August 2014.

The competition has proved to be a great learning experience for its participants as they received specially and individually designed mentorship from experienced and well established entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors from both the countries. They also got a once in a lifetime opportunity to earn seed funding and free incubation in both the nations for three to six months. They were even made available with a network of entrepreneurs who helped them in accomplishing their business plans and ideas.

The contest was open to all early-stage startups based in Pakistan and India. The deadline for applications was 20th December, 2013. Even concept stage startups that were planning to launch themselves within 3 months of applying were also allowed to apply and contest in the competition. The competition was only open to people under 35 years of age. While startups having an element of cross border were preferred, it was not a necessity for applying.

The last and final round of the competition will see the contestants pitching business plans to an experienced panel of investors from both the nations and the diaspora. The whole reality show has been produced in partnership with GEO TV in Pakistan and CNBC in India.

Indian Finalists

Zuarinagar, Goa based Changemaker.be - a platform aimed at empowering NGOs on multiple fronts such as funding and access to human resources to carry out their projects. The startup is founded by value-driven youngsters all in their early 20s namely - Chaitali Pandit,  Abhijith Asok, Rishabh Makharia, and Kunal Bajpai.

Bangalore based Green Nerds Solutions works in area of clean technology space and provide innovated solutions for waste management, specifically segregation and processing such as waste to energy or waste to fertilizer. Its primary innovation is the ‘Automatic Garbage Mould’ that range from five to 12 ton capacity to enable segregation and conversion of waste into reusable substances and help you reduce the waste quantity up to 75%, and ensure minimal rejects to landfill thus reducing the space utilized for garbage dump yards which can be converted to gardens/green space. The company was founded in 2011 by 40-year-old Nidhish Shetty.

New Delhi based Mobile Harvest Solutions is a social startup in education and healthcare sector that uses mobile applications in the rural areas. The startup developed tools that are used by various organizations and are targeted on large scale of users for information dissemination, training, feedback and communication in the areas of governance, healthcare and education. This startup is also founded by young entrepreneurs Sachin Gaur (30), Jayvardhan Jaju (30), and Prashanth Pattabiraman (27).

Mumbai based Vishwas is a social enterprise startup in the space of healthcare delivery targeted to both patients and doctors. The company has created an IT platform that allow content sharing, real-time epidemiological monitoring, and crowdsourcing ideas for community development of physicians. Vishwas has also developed an android application that runs on a tablet, exclusively catering to the needs of family doctors in low-resource, high-volume settings. The startup is also on verge of developing first-of-its-kind community portal for doctors and patients that will display real-time trends of diseases in the population, and allow for crowdsourcing content and social networking for doctors community.

Jodhpur based Zostel Hospitality is a startup that work for tourism & accommodation sector , it have a chain of hostels that offer hygienic, secure, centrally located and affordable accommodation to budget travelers targeted to young travelers and backpackers who are looking star hotel alternatives.

Pakistan Finalists

Lahore based bio-tech startup Bu Technologies designed a low-cost human brain controlled prosthetic hand for upper limb disabled persons which functions like a hand of any normal human being. This prosthetic hand uses muscle pressure technology with microprocessors that can sense, feel, and even automatically tighten when necessary.

Another Lahore based startup Plant4Plants provides investment, consultancy, rehabilitation and market relationship services to owners of waterlogged areas, they offer Rs. 40,000 per hectare to the owners to grow eucalyptus which sucks water and cures such land and in turn its pulp is used as a raw material in the paper and pulp industry.So far, over 1,236 acres of land has been recovered for agricultural use.

Karachi based KG Hub is a startup in the publishing industry which makes comics books and provides content for marketing purposes to various FMCG and agencies.
The History Project, curates books on significant events and shared conflict on both sides of the border - India and Pakistan. The startup collects and collates facts from textbooks, juxtaposes them, and introduces them to students through interactive presentations, highlighting embedded stereotypes. The project is founded by  Qasim Aslam and Ayyaz Ahmad.