Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — ₹51L CCTV & AI Hackathon

Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — also called the Gujarat CCTV Hackathon — is a Government of Gujarat competition that asks innovators from across the country to turn the state's scattered camera estate into one intelligent surveillance network. The organisers describe it as India's largest hackathon built around CCTV integration and AI video analytics, and it carries a ₹51,00,000 prize pool.

Unlike a proof-of-concept exercise, the challenge is framed around deployment. Teams are asked to bring more than 80,000 CCTV cameras spread across Gujarat onto a single platform, then layer real-time analytics on top of live feeds — flagging suspicious activity, reading number plates through ANPR, tracking vehicles, matching against watchlists and searching across cameras. Correlating what the cameras see with Government databases such as VAHAN, SARTHI, eGujCop, AFIS and NAFIS, and raising real-time alerts to speed up law enforcement, sits at the heart of the brief, which the organisers position as a first for India.

Work is meant to happen alongside Gujarat Police rather than in isolation. Participants connect to a sandbox stocked with footage from active Government infrastructure — about 12 hours from each of 30-plus cameras belonging to departments including Health, Police, GSRTC, Panchayat and Municipal — served as simulated live streams over RTSP, WebRTC and HLS. Roughly 50 geographically spread feeds are available to build and test against, and the six finalists go on to integrate with real CCTV feeds at scale.

Entry is free and open to individuals as well as teams, with two tracks so that students and smaller ventures are not pitted head-on against large system integrators. Mentoring and technical guidance come from knowledge partners National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) and DA-IICT. The technology stack spans feed integration, video intelligence, object and face detection, cybersecurity and scalable architecture for live monitoring, and solutions are expected to be built on open-source technologies.

• ₹51,00,000 total prize pool across two phases
• Submissions close 15 September 2026
• Grand Finale on 22–23 September 2026 at i-Hub Gujarat
• Separate track for students, researchers and small startups
• Phase 1 prize money doubles as a grant to build the final solution
• Build and test on ~50 simulated live CCTV feeds

Participation is open to people from anywhere in India, either as an individual or as part of a team — the deciding factor is which track you register under.

Category 1 — Academic / Research / Startup

• Students, graduates, postgraduates and doctoral scholars.
• Academic and research teams.
• DPIIT-recognised startups, which must show a valid DPIIT Startup Recognition Certificate at registration or during verification. This category covers student teams together with small and medium startups.

Category 2 — Industry / Enterprise

• Companies, system integrators and technology solution providers.
• LLPs, partnerships and other businesses that do not qualify as DPIIT-recognised startups. This category covers large startups and established companies.

Phase 1 prizes are awarded separately within each category, so you are competing only against others in your own track.

Proposed solutions should be built on open-source technologies.

Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — ₹51L CCTV & AI Hackathon is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

The most recent application window for Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — ₹51L CCTV & AI Hackathon closed on 15 Sept 2026. Many programmes run repeat cohorts, so it is worth checking the official site for the next round.

The challenge puts ₹51,00,000 in prize money on the table across two phases, and Phase 1 winnings also act as a grant towards building the final solution.

Phase 1 — Sandbox Round (₹18,00,000)

• Category 1: ₹4,00,000, ₹2,00,000 and ₹1,00,000 for the top three teams.
• Category 2: ₹5,00,000, ₹3,00,000 and ₹2,00,000 for the top three teams.
• Four consolation awards of ₹25,000 each, shared across both categories.

Phase 2 — Grand Finale (₹31,00,000)

• Winner: ₹16,00,000
• First runner-up: ₹8,00,000
• Second runner-up: ₹7,00,000

Additional awards (₹2,00,000)

• ₹50,000 each for the three finalists who finish outside the top three.
• A ₹50,000 Special Jury Award.

Cash is only part of what teams take away. Participants get a proving ground of around 50 geographically spread, simulated live CCTV feeds from Government departments, delivered over RTSP, WebRTC and HLS endpoints, and the six finalists integrate with real feeds at scale. Technical mentoring and guidance come from knowledge partners NFSU and DA-IICT, and the awards bring national recognition plus a route to real-world deployment with Gujarat Police.

Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — ₹51L CCTV & AI Hackathon is offered by Gujarat Police, a government body. As a government-backed competition, it is publicly funded and open to eligible startups across India. You can verify current details and timelines on the provider's official website before applying.

Phase 1 — Sandbox Round. Teams integrate their solution with the simulated live test feeds and compete within their own category. On the hackathon day, each team is handed a vehicle number and has to track that vehicle as it moves between camera locations, producing its complete route as a timestamped, location-wise movement history.

Submissions are assessed across seven areas:

• The test case run on the government feed.
• The solution presentation.
• Solution architecture and the quality of the high-level design.
• How mature the working platform is.
• The quality of the video analytics output.
• Scalability and proof-of-concept readiness for roughly 80,000 cameras.
• Overall completeness of the submission.

Extras such as hybrid architectures, cross-camera tracking, edge processing or automated alerts may attract bonus consideration, but they cannot make up for a missing mandatory requirement. Demonstrations must show working software — mock-ups and concept videos are not accepted.

Phase 2 — Grand Finale. The top three teams from each category, six in total, advance. They integrate with real CCTV feeds at scale and are evaluated by Gujarat Police leadership and a technical jury, with support from knowledge partners NFSU and DA-IICT.

Before you apply to Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — ₹51L CCTV & AI Hackathon, 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.

Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026 — ₹51L CCTV & AI Hackathon is best suited for startups in India seeking non-dilutive funding of ₹51L. If that describes your startup, review the eligibility criteria above before applying.