Rajasthan Calls In Global Coders For Code-From-Home Online Hackathon 2018

In the age of the gig economy and remote working, it’s but natural for things other than work — events, competitions, etc — to offer flexibility. The Government of Rajasthan, in another breakaway from convention, has launched code-from-home Online Hackathon 2018. The announcement comes soon after the Hon’ble Rajasthan Chief Minister (CM) Vasundhara Raje was conferred the Chief Minister of the Year award for her remarkable work in e-governance.

Building on the Rajasthan government’s iStart startup programme, the online hackathon is a part of Challenge for Change — a platform of the Rajasthan’s Department of Information Technology and Communications (DoITC) which gives startups, professionals, and students the opportunity to work with the state government to develop innovative technology-based solutions to resolve problems and bring in desired change in different industries.

Challenge for Change, launched in August 2017 as part of the state’s flagship iStart initiative, has registered more than 133K people so far. It is currently running contests to solve problems in the wool industry, agritech, and mining.

The Online Hackathon will offer the winner a direct entry into the all-expense-paid Rajasthan Hackathon 5.0 in Bikaner and a chance to launch their startup.

Online Hackathon 2018: A 36-Hour Coding Competition

The state government is looking for ingenious ideas on any of these 12 themes — Bhamashah Yojana, e-Mitra, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, augmented reality/virtual reality, blockchain, machine learning, data warehouse, tourism, bioinformatics, big data, and data mobility.

The 36-hour hackathon is open to any coder, developer, designer, or anyone who enjoys building technology solutions. It is being organised from 6 PM on July 6 and will end at 6 AM on July 8 (IST). Of the total 36 hours, the participants have to code for select 15 hours, whenever it suits them. Click here for more details.

The winner of the hackathon will receive prizes such as iPads, tablets, laptops, smartphone etc and the ones who successfully complete the mandatory 15 hours will also get a direct entry to Rajasthan Hackathon 5.0 — all-expense paid — which shall be organised in Bikaner on July 26-27, 2018.

Interested candidates can apply for the Online Hackathon 2018 here!

Rajasthan: Fostering Innovation Through Startups

 A beacon for innovators and creators in the state, the Rajasthan government has been reaffirming its commitment to growth with many of its initiatives.

Recently, the government concluded its IT Day 2018 Fest, which sought to provide a platform to e-mitras, education providers, students, as well as startups. The fest included events and programmes such as TechRush, Hackathon 4.0, Eduhack, Green-a-thon, and the eMitra/ITGK Connect.

Among the 5,000 entrants of Hackathon 4.0 who coded for non-stop 36 hours, the winners — Jalandhar-based A K Pal Robotic, Delhi-based Tech 9, and Bengaluru-based Swift Ace — won contracts with the DoITC of the Rajasthan government to find effective solutions to promote and improve the state’s IT and e-governance initiatives.

From e-governance to utilising APIs in setting up the operations of different departments, the state officials have continuously emphasised on the impact the adoption of IT has created on the state’s development.

In the past few years, the Rajasthan government has also organised a number of initiatives geared towards boosting the growth of innovative startups from tier 2 and 3 cities across the state. One of the most popular initiatives is Digifest, a two-day mega event organised by DoITC. So far, three editions of Rajasthan Digifest have been organised in Kota, Udaipur and Jaipur respectively.

Online Hackathon: A Callout To Talented Hackers Across The Country

India has been a resource pool of innovative ideas and solutions for a long time. In the last few years, with startups driving technology and innovation, the country has caught the attention of the world. The central government’s continued push to Digital India is also encouraging state governments to come up with their own startup policies and initiatives to boost entrepreneurship at the state level.

While on one hand, Rajasthan is spearheading digital transformation and fueling the startup revolution in India, on the other, it is working to make digital a way of life with its push for digital literacy, e-governance and more.

The spiralling Internet usage is a major factor in supporting the digital push in the country. The IAMAI expects Indian Internet users to cross 478 Mn by June 2018. The Rajasthan government, with its Code-from-Home online hackathon, is not only living the spirit of the digital revolution but is also giving a chance to latent talent hidden in remote parts of India to come forward and hack their way with innovative solutions for the country’s problems.

If you are interested, you can apply for the Online Hackathon 2018 here!