DTI Ideathon & Hackathon 2026 — ₹18 Lakh Mentorship Challenge

DTI Ideathon & Hackathon 2026 is a pan-India online innovation competition run by Dolphin Tank India (DTI), with the Industry Academia Community (IAC) as its powering partner. It is aimed at anyone who wants to take a real-world problem and shape it into a scalable social enterprise, and the entry bar is deliberately low — you do not need a registered company, an existing co-founder, or any past startup experience to sign up.

Entries run on two separate tracks, so you choose the one that matches the way you work. The Ideathon track is about developing solutions to social and business challenges, and suits students, entrepreneurs, business thinkers, innovators and problem solvers. The Hackathon track is about building scalable technology solutions to real-world problems, and suits developers, engineers, AI/ML enthusiasts, designers, product builders and technology professionals.

The whole competition is fully online, so participants from any part of India can take part without travelling. Registration is individual — each person signs up and submits their own idea or prototype.

The challenge itself is only the entry point. The wider DTI journey continues through evaluation, founder and co-founder matchmaking, structured startup mentorship, and finally a pitch to investors for funding, which is where funding conversations begin.

• Fully online national innovation challenge run by Dolphin Tank India (DTI) with the Industry Academia Community (IAC).
• Two tracks to choose from: Ideathon for solutions and business thinking, Hackathon for technology and product builds.
• Headline reward is mentorship valued at ₹18 lakhs, alongside national recognition, incubation support, investor exposure, networking and participation certificates.
• Individual participation for students, professionals, entrepreneurs and developers from anywhere in India — no previous startup experience needed.
• Progression path: registration, track participation, evaluation, founder–co-founder matchmaking, mentorship, then a pitch to investors for funding.
• Applications close on 21 July 2026 as listed on the programme page.

The programme is intentionally broad about who it lets in. Entries are welcome from across India, with no filter on discipline, degree, job role or sector.

• Location: participants from anywhere in India can apply.
• Who can take part: students, professionals, entrepreneurs and developers — all backgrounds are welcome.
• Prior experience: not required. People who have never worked on a startup before can enter.
• Team structure: individual participation only. You register and submit on your own; there is no team entry at the application stage.
• Entity requirement: the contest is built around individual participants rather than registered entities, so no company setup is involved at the point of entry.

The Founder–Co-Founder Matchmaking stage comes later in the journey, so you do not need to arrive with a co-founder already in place.

DTI Ideathon & Hackathon 2026 — ₹18 Lakh Mentorship Challenge is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

The most recent application window for DTI Ideathon & Hackathon 2026 — ₹18 Lakh Mentorship Challenge closed on 21 Jul 2026. Many programmes run repeat cohorts, so it is worth checking the official site for the next round.

Because DTI Ideathon & Hackathon 2026 is a competition rather than a grant or loan scheme, the listed prize value varies and no fixed cash prize pool is announced. The value on offer is support, exposure and access.

What participants who progress stand to gain:

• Mentorship valued at ₹18 lakhs — the headline benefit of the programme.
• National recognition for the ideas and prototypes that clear evaluation.
• Incubation support to help move a venture forward.
• Investor exposure, including the final pitch to investors for funding.
• Networking opportunities across the DTI and IAC community.
• Participation certificates for those who take part in the challenge.

The investor pitch at the end of the journey is the route through which funding discussions happen. The programme itself does not promise a set investment amount — the listed amount for this award is described only as varying.

The programme publishes a defined journey rather than a single screening round. Applications move through these stages in order:

• Registration — you sign up individually on the official Unstop listing and submit your idea or prototype.
• Ideathon / Hackathon — you take part in the track you selected, working on your solution or build.
• Evaluation — the submissions received are assessed to decide who progresses further.
• Founder–Co-Founder Matchmaking — participants who clear evaluation are matched with potential co-founders.
• Startup Mentorship — mentoring support for the ventures that come through.
• Investor Pitch for Funding — the closing stage, where the strongest participants present to investors.

No stage durations or detailed evaluation criteria are published in the programme information available.

Before you apply to DTI Ideathon & Hackathon 2026 — ₹18 Lakh Mentorship Challenge, keep the following documents ready:

• A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
• Company registration documents and PAN
• Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
• Recent financial statements or projections
• Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available

Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.