New Delhi: The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon marked a major milestone in inclusive digital innovation as part of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where 1,800 college students from non-engineering backgrounds built 1,500 working application prototypes in just 90 minutes.
The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon demonstrated how artificial intelligence tools can enable students from Arts, Science, and Commerce streams to participate directly in digital creation without prior coding knowledge.
Hosted as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon showcased AI tools designed to operate in Indian languages, helping participants move from identifying real-world problems to building functional digital solutions in real time.
The event was held at Bharat Mandapam and highlighted how accessible AI workflows can expand participation in innovation.
Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon: AI Democratises Innovation
The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon was graced by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, who attended as Chief Guest.
The event was also attended by K Krithivasan, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services.
During the Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon, participants selected challenges across sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and civic life.
Using structured AI-enabled workflows, students researched issues, brainstormed solutions, and developed app prototypes addressing community-level problems.
The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon served as a live demonstration of how AI can democratise innovation and empower non-technical students to become creators of digital solutions.
K Krithivasan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said, “India’s digital future depends on unlocking talent beyond engineering. The Tata YUVAi Hackathon, which witnessed 1,800 students from non-engineering backgrounds come together to build digital app prototypes, marks a major step toward that vision. It reflects the Tata Group’s commitment to digital inclusion, where opportunity is not defined by background, stream, or language.
This is the country’s largest single-session learning initiative of its kind and the beginning of a national movement to reach one million students, empowering them with AI tools to turn ideas into real-world solutions.”
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The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon reflects a broader vision of empowering India’s youth with future-ready digital capabilities.
With 62.3% of undergraduate students in India enrolled in Arts, Science, and Commerce streams, the Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon aims to identify and enable India’s next million digital creators by lowering technical barriers and enabling creation through intuitive, language-accessible AI tools.
The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon at Bharat Mandapam also marked the culmination of a nationwide initiative. Over the previous six weeks, the TCS Bharat YUVAi Hackathon conducted satellite events across 22 colleges in 10 states, including Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, reaching more than 10,000 students.
Completion rates during these events ranged between 88% and 93%.
The Tata Bharat YUVAi Hackathon saw participants – many building a digital product for the first time – complete the full innovation journey and leave with functional app prototypes, demonstrating the potential of India’s emerging generation of digital creators.
