Forge Innovation & Ventures Promoted by Kumaraguru Institutions is hosting the 6th edition of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) – Hardware Edition Grand Finale at Forge Factory, KCT Tech Park, Coimbatore, from December 8th to 12th, 2025.
The event will bring together 150 student innovators across 25 teams from 22 premier institutions representing 10 Indian states, competing to solve 5 national innovation challenges anchored by the Ministry of Steel and AICTE.
The Smart India Hackathon, launched by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2017, is recognised globally as the world’s largest open innovation model, empowering students to build solutions for real-world challenges posed by ministries, departments, industries, and public sector organisations.
This year, the Ministry of Steel and AICTE have entrusted Forge with 5 critical problem statements, reaffirming confidence in Forge’s capability to deliver meaningful innovation outcomes for national development.
SIH 2025 – Forge Nodal Centre Metrics
The 6th edition hosted at Forge.Factory will feature:
- 150 Participants (93 Male, 57 Female)
- 25 Student Teams
- 22 Participating Institutions
- 10 States Represented
- 5 National Innovation Challenges
- 6th Consecutive Year hosting SIH at Forge
These metrics underscore SIH’s scale, impact, and growing importance as a national platform for applied engineering talent.
Vish Sahasranamam, Co-Founder & CEO, Forge Innovation & Ventures, said, “Hardware innovation is central to India’s industrial and economic transformation.
Through SIH, we are enabling young engineers to work on frontier technologies, solve real-world challenges, and build capabilities that matter for the nation’s future. We are honoured to host this grand finale for the sixth consecutive year.”
To date, SIH has:
- Impacted 13.9+ lakh students nationwide
- Engaged 2 lakh+ teams across software and hardware editions
- Enabled the adoption of student-built solutions by government and industry
- Inspired hundreds of institutions to create innovation ecosystems on campuses
- Catalysed the formation of multiple start-ups emerging from SIH projects
The SIH initiative continues to play a critical role in nurturing a culture of product innovation, applied engineering, and problem-solving across India.
Forge’s Role in Advancing India’s Hardware Innovation Ecosystem
Forge has been associated with SIH since its early editions—not only as a Partner Incubator but also as a strategic co-architect in strengthening India’s hardware innovation landscape.
With a decade of experience in enabling Phy’gital product innovation (Hardware-First, Digital-Plus), Forge brings deep expertise in building solutions across:
- Robotics & Intelligent Systems
- Industry 4.0 & Automation
- Additive Manufacturing
- Sensors & IoT Systems
- Advanced Prototyping & Engineering
Through HWJunction, Forge’s integrated product innovation lab, student teams receive access to world-class prototyping tools, technical specialists, and design engineering support, and structured innovation frameworks — empowering them to convert problem statements into deployable, market-ready solutions.
