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JAMMU: In a landmark achievement for student-led innovation, a team from the Design Your Degree (DYD) program at University of Jammu, competing as Team Dupahar, has secured a place among the Top 15 finalists at India Innovates 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 28th of March, 2026. Notably, it was the only team from Jammu and Kashmir making the achievement even more significant.
Recognized as one of the world’s largest hackathons, the competition saw participation from over 1.26 crore applicants across the country, making this achievement a significant national milestone. The team comprising Adil Mahajan, Tavishi Amla, Gourav Sharma and Narayan Choudhary has emerged as one of the most promising groups in a competition.
The team’s journey reflects exceptional performance across a rigorous three-stage selection process. In Round 1, more than 28,000+ teams were shortlisted for evaluation from the massive applicant pool. In Round 2, over 5,000+ teams advanced after detailed technical screening. The final round , conducted offline at Bharat Mandapam, only 15 teams selected at the national level, placing Team Dupahar among the top innovators in India.
At the hackathon, the team developed an advanced AI-powered infrastructure planning solution focused on digital terrain modeling, waterlogging prediction, carbon mapping and drainage optimization. Built to address real-world governance and civic challenges, the system integrates geo-spatial intelligence, predictive simulation, and scalable planning capabilities, making it highly relevant for climate-resilient infrastructure and large-scale public deployment.
A defining highlight of the event was the opportunity to present their innovation directly to senior policymakers and government leaders, including the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Rekha Gupta, Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Delhi, Shri Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister of Tourism, Art & Culture, Govt. of Delhi, Shri Kapil Mishra, and Speaker, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Dr. Prem Kumar and Member of Parliament for North East Delhi, Shri Manoj Tiwari, along with the Director of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, among other distinguished dignitaries. Engaging with leaders responsible for governance and policy formulation marked a crucial step in translating student innovation into real-world impact.
Following their selection among the Top 15 teams, DYD students now advances to the final stage, the Ministry-Level Presentation, where they will pitch their solution directly to Government Ministries. At this stage, the most promising innovations will be evaluated for national implementation, with the potential to be deployed across the country with institutional and ministerial support.
The achievement has been widely appreciated by the institution’s leadership. The Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Prof. Umesh Rai, University of Jammu commended the team for exemplifying how student innovation can contribute meaningfully to nation-building, highlighting the importance of combining technical excellence with societal impact. Prof. Rai emphasized the importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in promoting a culture of innovation and urged students to protect their ideas by filing patents, especially for projects developed during hackathons and also highlighted the DYD program as a transformative initiative under the Skill Incubation Innovation Entrepreneurship Development Centre (SIIEDC), integrating innovation and entrepreneurship into technical education.
Director SIIEDC, Prof. Alka Sharma praised the team’s dedication and ability to transform academic knowledge into practical, scalable solutions, while Associate Director SIIEDC, Prof. Jatinder Manhas emphasized that reaching this stage in such a competitive global environment reflects exceptional clarity of vision, technical strength, and execution capability.
As Students now prepares for the final Ministry Presentation in the coming weeks, the focus shifts toward pitching their solution for potential adoption at the national level. This next phase offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with government ministries, refine their innovation for large-scale implementation, and contribute to impactful public solutions.
