National Challenge
Agri-Excellence Hackathon – 2026
AI, Electronics & ICT Solutions for Saffron, Walnut & Apple Value Chains
Background & Summit Launch
The Agri-Excellence Hackathon – 2026 was officially launched on 9 January 2026 during “AI in Agriculture”, the Official Pre-Summit Event under the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, held at STPI, Kolkata. The hackathon fosters indigenous innovation to resolve bottlenecks in saffron harvest, green walnut picking, and apple post-harvest grading.
Primary Thematic Pillars
- Saffron Improvement: Autonomous weeders, stereovision flower detection, and climate-controlled aeroponics.
- Technology for Walnut: Canopy-accessible shakers, intelligent in-shell sorting, and rapid UV/chemical aflatoxin detection.
- Apple Quality Estimation: Conveyorized X-Ray internal core inspection fused with 360° hyperspectral imaging.
Problem Statements
Sub-Thematic Areas (HSTA-01 to HSTA-08)
Filter problem tracks by value chain and select a challenge to submit your innovative cyber-physical or algorithmic solution.
Saffron Flower Stigma Separator
Development of a precision mechanical or micro-pneumatic mechanism to separate delicate red stigmas from purple saffron petals without crushing active compounds (crocin, safranal).
AI/ML Flower Plucking Point Identification
Embedded computer vision and stereovision models to identify coordinate plucking vectors for robotic harvesting arms under variable outdoor sunlight and field soil conditions.
Smart Harvester for Green Walnut
Tractor-mounted or autonomous limb-shaker mechanism with tree trunk damping controls to harvest high-canopy walnuts safely without bark damage.
Intelligent Segregation of In-Shelled Walnut
Acoustic and machine vision grading system to rapidly differentiate hollow, pest-infested, or broken in-shell walnuts at commercial conveyor speeds.
Smart Quality Grading & Neurotoxin Detection
Portable fluorometric, hyperspectral, or electronic-nose screening tools for rapid in-field aflatoxin and mycotoxin detection compliant with export limits.
Conveyor-based Defect Detection & Actuator Sync
Real-time edge-AI software capturing 360° surface views at line speeds of 5+ apples/second, synchronized with high-speed pneumatic ejector gates.
3D-CNN Hyperspectral Image Analysis for Apple Internal Quality
Volumetric deep learning models analyzing multi-band hyperspectral cubes to detect bitter pit, watercore, internal browning, and sugar-acid balance non-destructively.
Innovative AI, Electronics or ICT Solutions
Open challenge track for novel IoT sensor nodes, cold chain monitoring, solar-powered field robotics, or localized Kashmiri agricultural decision support engines.
Key Milestones
Important Dates & Hackathon Schedule
Participation Package
Documents & Submission
Hackathon Brochure
Complete eligibility, prize pool, guidelines, and jury framework.
NOC Format
Mandatory institutional endorsement and No Objection Certificate.
Concept Note Template
Structured proposal document (Word format) for submission.
Interactive Online Portal
Direct proposal submission modal or external MeitY/C-DAC form.
Direct Scan Registration
Scan with any mobile camera to launch the C-DAC mobile registration portal instantly.