Entries open for NCIIPC Startup India AI Grand Challenge

Deadline: 15 August 2025

The NCIIPC Startup India AI Grand Challenge is a pioneering initiative to encourage Deep Tech Startups to build indigenous Products/Solutions to the Challenges in the National Security domain.

Mission

To develop AI solutions that address key challenges using AIML in Cybersecurity & Forensics, Bigdata Analytics, Geospatial, Cryptology, Maritime and OSINT domains.

Problem Statements

The challenge has 12 Problem Statements (PS), each posing a unique challenge to the Indian Deep Tech Talent to come up with innovative solutions to strengthen National Security Apparatus.
PS-1: LLMs to Detect Vulnerability in Open-Source Software
- LLM-based tool for vulnerability detection in software source code and generating mitigating measures.
PS-2: Phishing Detection
- AI/ML based solution capable of detecting phishing domains and pages for specific target organizations.
PS-3: Visual Search, Retrieval and Detection in Satellite Imagery
- To develop a system to automatically search, identify and detect objects in a wide range of satellite images, producing labelled datasets that can be further trained and fine-tuned to object detection models directly.
PS-4: Retrieval Augmented Generation based Question and Answering System
- Development of a RAG based Information Correlation System across multiple documents to generate summaries supporting semantic retrieval and generative reasoning.
PS-5: Multi-lingual Document Digitisation
- Develop a solution for multi-lingual document digitization with high accuracy OCR and intelligent text extraction.
PS-6: Language Agnostic Speaker Identification/Verification & Diarisation; and subsequent Transcription & Translation System
- AI solution for speaker identification, verification, and diarisation that works across multiple languages and dialects, with subsequent transcription and translation capabilities.
PS-7: Password Extraction & Decryption
- Extraction and decryption of passwords from protected documents, disks, and compressed files for forensic evidence retrieval.
PS-8: Emitter Location Enhancement
- Develop a solution to provide cross sensor localization enhancement based on reduction in the Ellipse Error Probable.
PS-9: Maritime Domain Awareness
- Solution for detection and classification of objects of interest in wide swath SAR/EO Imagery and multi-sensor data correlation.
PS-10: Change Detection in Satellite Imagery
- Development of AI solutions for automated detection and analysis of man-made changes of large landmass in satellite imagery over time.
PS-11: Hyperspectral Anomaly Detection
- Advanced AI solutions to detect non-natural changes in hyperspectral imagery.
PS-12: Underwater Domain Awareness
- AI Solution for Detection & Classification of objects in Underwater Acoustic Data.

Prize Information

Stage 1
- 3 Months Duration
- Maximum 6 Winners Per Problem Statement
- Prize Money
  - Total of ₹2.16 Crores for Stage-1 Winners
  - ₹18 lakhs Per Problem Statement
  - ₹3 lakhs Per Winner
- Grant Money
  - Total of ₹3.6 Crores for Stage-1 Winners
  - ₹30 lakhs Per Problem Statement
  - ₹5 lakhs Per Winner
Stage 2
- 4 Months Duration
- Maximum 3 Winners Per Problem Statement
- Prize Money
  - Total of ₹1.80 Crores for Stage-2 Winners
  - ₹15 lakhs Per Problem Statement
  - ₹5 lakhs Per Winner
- Grant Money
  - Total of ₹9 Crores for Stage-2 Winners
  - ₹75 lakhs Per Problem Statement
  - ₹25 lakhs Per Winner
Stage 3
- 5 Months Duration
- Maximum One Winner Per Problem Statement
- Prize Money
  - Total of ₹6 Crores for Stage-3 Winners
  - ₹50 lakhs Per Winner Per Problem Statement
  - ₹50 lakhs Per Winner
- Additional Benefits
  - Winning Teams with promising solutions eligible for a post-challenge contract