North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, successfully concluded the Valedictory Ceremony of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025 – Software Edition on 9th December 2025 at the Multi-Convention Hall. Organized under the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the two-day grand finale witnessed exceptional young innovators from across the country working tirelessly to solve real-life challenges through technology-driven solutions. NEHU served as a dynamic centre of creativity, collaboration and innovation, reflecting the nation’s vision of empowering youth through digital transformation.
The valedictory function was graced by several distinguished dignitaries, including Mrs. Lakshmi Rao, Adviser (Innovation and Entrepreneurship), PRIME Hub, Government of Meghalaya, who attended as the Chief Guest. Other notable guests included Mr. Ebenezer Lyngwa, COO of Meghalaya Technology Parks Society, IT and Communication Department, Government of Meghalaya, and Dr. Hirak Ranjan Das, Indovation Manager (Eastern Region), Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, Government of India, who served as Guests of Honour. The programme also saw the presence of Prof. S. K. Dixit, Registrar, NEHU; Prof. G. Bez, Chairperson, SIH-2025; Prof. Dinesh Bhatia, Coordinator and AICTE SPOC for SIH-2025; and Dr. Sukti Majaw, Co-Coordinator, SIH-2025.
The ceremony began with opening remarks by Dr. Sukti Majaw, followed by the welcome address delivered by Prof. G. Bez. In their messages, the dignitaries highlighted the growing importance of the Smart India Hackathon as a national platform that nurtures innovation, encourages problem-solving, and inspires students to develop impactful solutions for societal needs. Chief Guest Mrs. Lakshmi Rao commended the participants for their creativity and dedication and emphasized the Government of Meghalaya’s continued support for youth-led innovation and entrepreneurship.
One of the major highlights of the event was the Prize Distribution Ceremony, during which the winning teams of SIH 2025 hosted at NEHU were announced. Team CORE 401, led by Shubh Sharma from Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore, won for their solution on Smart Community Health Monitoring and Early Warning Systems for water-borne diseases. Team ITerativebytes, led by Saniyaa B. Shetty from SVKM’s Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai, was declared a winner for developing a Smart Tourist Safety Monitoring and Incident Response System using AI and blockchain-based digital identification. Team Promatrs, led by Meheer J from Saveetha School of Engineering, Chennai, won for their innovative project aimed at digitizing and showcasing Sikkim’s monasteries for cultural preservation. Another winning team was NEXUS – IIITB, led by Aangir Doshi from the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, for developing an AI-powered DPR Quality Assessment and Risk Prediction System for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER).
The ceremony concluded with closing remarks by Prof. Dinesh Bhatia, who expressed deep appreciation to MIC, AICTE, participating institutes, mentors, evaluators, and student teams for making SIH 2025 a remarkable success. This was followed by a group photograph with participants and delegates, after which dinner was hosted for all attendees. NEHU takes pride in hosting this prestigious national event, reaffirming its commitment to fostering innovation, research excellence and technology-enabled solutions for the benefit of society.
2026, North-Eastern Hill University
Designed & developed at Bioinformatics Centre, NEHU
