The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, in collaboration with AICTE, is organizing the Grand Finale of STATATHON 2025–26, a 36-hour national-level Grand Challenge, at Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS), Faridabad, on 17–18 June 2026.
STATATHON is a flagship initiative aimed at promoting the innovative use of statistics, data science, Artificial Intelligence, and analytics for solving real-world governance challenges. This year, the competition received an overwhelming response, with more than 5,300 submissions from students across India. Following a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process, 25 teams comprising approximately 125 students have been shortlisted for the Grand Finale. The Grand Finale will culminate on June 18, 2026, with finalist teams presenting their solutions before an expert jury panel, followed by the announcement of winners.
The inaugural session was attended by Mr. Rohit Bhardwaj, Additional Director General, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI); Dr. N.H. Siddalinga Swamy, Advisor, AICTE; Dr. Pradeep Dhage, Assistant Director, Innovation Cell, AICTE; Sh. Rajiv Kapoor, Managing Director, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions; and Dr. N.C. Wadhwa, Director General, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, along with policymakers, academic leaders, industry experts, mentors, jury members, and participating teams. The gathering underscored the growing importance of innovation, data-driven governance, and cross-sector collaboration in building a future-ready statistical ecosystem for the nation.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr. Rohit Bhardwaj, Additional Director General, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), said, “STATATHON is not merely an academic exercise; it is a platform for developing solutions that can be implemented in real-world governance systems. We have seen promising ideas from previous editions progress to pilot stages, and we are committed to taking forward solutions that demonstrate real value. The challenges presented in this hackathon address genuine pain points faced by the official statistical system, ranging from multilingual data collection and faster data processing to data security and dissemination. We encourage participants to develop sustainable, scalable and practical solutions that can be integrated into government workflows and contribute to strengthening India’s statistical ecosystem. The journey does not end with the hackathon – it begins here.”
