Central Depository Services (India) Limited (“CDSL”), a listed depository and custodian of 19+ crore demat accounts, on Oct 7 launched Reimagine Ideathon 2.0. It is inviting students across India to develop innovative ways of making financial awareness and cyber-safety education more accessible, relevant and engaging for students, first-time investors and senior citizens. Launched during World Investor Week 2026, being observed in India under the theme ‘Samajh Se Investing Simple’, the competition comes with a total prize pool of ₹11.5 lakh for the top five teams.
At the heart of Samajh Se Investing Simple is the idea that an educated investor is an empowered investor — and that investor awareness is most effective when information is communicated in a manner, language and format that investors can understand and relate to. Reimagine Ideathon 2.0 brings this approach to life and to develop innovative solutions that can strengthen financial awareness and cyber safety for an investor base that is becoming more diverse and increasingly digital.
Participants are free to choose the format, technology, delivery model or approach best suited to their proposed solution, including digital platforms, mobile applications, websites, chatbots, games, simulations, learning modules, awareness campaigns, community models or AI-enabled assistants, among others. Submissions will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary jury on parameters including innovation, user experience, impact and usefulness, feasibility, scalability, accessibility, data protection and clarity of presentation. The jury will be chaired by Shri S. Ramadorai, whose distinguished career spans leadership in business, public policy and institution-building, including serving as CEO and MD of TCS, Chairperson of BSE, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Skill Development, and currently Chairperson of Karmayogi Bharat.
The Reimagine Ideathon also complements SEBI’s Mentoring of University/College Students by Trainers (MUST) initiative, which seeks to strengthen financial literacy and securities market awareness among students. While MUST focuses on taking structured financial education to university and college campuses through trained Partner Trainers, Reimagine Ideathon 2.0 encourages students themselves to contribute ideas and solutions for making investor education more engaging, accessible and relevant to their generation.
Registrations are open from October 7, 2026, with a total prize pool of ₹11.5 lakh for the top five teams. More details on registration, problem statements, evaluation criteria and timelines are available at CDSL Reimagine Ideathon: https://ideathon.cdslindia.com/.
