MIT India Pune Hackathon 2026: ₹2.5 Crore Prize Pool, 2 Tracks — Frequently Asked Questions

The total prize pool is ₹2,50,00,000, which is ₹2.5 crore, and the programme is listed with a headline figure of up to ₹2.5 crore. The breakdown between winning ranks and between the two tracks has not been published, so the exact amount a particular winner takes home is not yet known.

The competition opens on July 10, 2026 and comes to a close on August 9, 2026. August 9, 2026 is the hard deadline for registration as well as for submitting your project, so it is worth having your entry finished well before that date.

Anyone based in India. The organisers describe the hackathon as suitable for engineering students, design enthusiasts and anyone keen to build solutions to real problems. You do not need to be a registered company, and no startup recognition requirement is mentioned anywhere in the details.

Either arrangement works. Solo participants are permitted and teams are equally welcome. The listing does not state a minimum or maximum team size, so no cap applies as far as the published details go.

No age restriction appears in the programme details. The only stated condition is that participants should be based in India.

The hackathon runs an Engineering track and a Design track. Engineering suits technical work such as coding and hardware development, while Design is aimed at product design, user experience and creative problem solving. You compete within the track you enter.

No. Nothing in the programme details calls for DPIIT recognition or MSME registration. This is an open competition rather than a government grant or loan scheme, so those startup registrations do not form part of the eligibility criteria.

No. Prize money from a competition is not an investment, and nothing in the details suggests that entrants give up equity, a share of their venture or any repayment obligation in exchange for the prizes on offer.

Registration and project submission both go through the official competition page on Internshala: https://internshala.com/competitions/mit-india-pune-hackathon-2026/. You sign up for the hackathon there and submit your project before the August 9, 2026 deadline.

Pune is listed as the location for the event. The listing does not confirm whether entries are submitted online only, whether there is an in-person round, or whether the format is a mix of the two. Details of the judging criteria and round structure are also unpublished, so entrants should watch the official page for format updates.

Apply directly through the official application link on this page. Review the eligibility criteria and prepare your startup documents before you begin.