A first-of-its-kind national-level hackathon, CemHack for Green Infra, was launched on 20 May 2025 by Shri Sanjiv, Joint Secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The event took place at the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) in Ballabgarh.

Marking the first anniversary of the NCB Incubation Centre (NCB-IC), Shri Sanjiv congratulated the team for promoting innovation in the cement and construction sectors. He urged institutions such as IITs, NITs, and regional technical universities to actively participate and expressed hope that the initiative would spark the creation of impactful start-ups.

Organised by NCB-IC, the hackathon offers a nationwide platform to commercialise grassroots innovations in cement, construction, and allied industries. Dr Kapil Kukreja, GM & In-charge at NCB-IC, outlined the two-track format—one open to start-ups, professionals, and individuals; the other to students and academia. Entry is free of charge.

Themes for the hackathon include Green Cement, Green Processes, Green Concrete, Carbon Capture & Storage, Logistics and Supply Chain, and strategies for achieving Net Zero emissions. Participants stand a chance to win cash prizes of up to Rs 1 million, along with incubation and mentoring support at NCB-IC. Registrations are open from 20 May to 20 July 2025 at https://www.ncbindia.com/cemhack.php.

NCB, under the DPIIT, serves as India’s apex research and development institution for cement and building materials, with expertise spanning raw material processing to structural rehabilitation.

Speaking at the launch, Dr L P Singh, Director General of NCB, emphasised the event’s importance in advancing sustainability across the construction ecosystem. He also announced recent developments, including a Department of Science and Technology-funded carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) test bed in collaboration with IIT Roorkee and JK Cement Ltd. A Centre of Excellence for CCU will also soon be established at NCB.

The launch event featured participation from Prof K K Pant, Director of IIT Roorkee; Shri Neeraj Akhoury, Chairman of NCB and MD of Shree Cement Ltd.; and a range of research scholars, students, industry experts, and NCB scientists.