The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025, a six-month initiative aimed at accelerating the development of 5G-powered solutions to address societal and industrial challenges. Open to students, startups, and professionals, the hackathon offers mentorship, funding, and access to over 100 5G Use Case Labs, enabling participants to transform ideas into scalable technologies. The programme invites proposals focused on AI-driven network maintenance, IoT solutions, 5G broadcasting, smart healthcare, agriculture, industrial automation, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), direct-to-mobile (D2M), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and quantum communication. Participants can leverage advanced 5G features such as network slicing, Quality of Service (QoS), and call-flow scenarios to develop real-world solutions. The initiative also provides assistance in intellectual property rights (IPR) filing to support commercialisation. The hackathon follows a structured timeline, beginning with proposal submissions from March 15 to April 15, 2025. Institutions can recommend up to five proposals for screening, with regional committees shortlisting 150–200 teams for further evaluation. The top 25–50 teams will enter the Pragati Phase, receiving Rs 1,00,000 in seed funding to develop prototypes over three months (June 15 – September 15, 2025). Participants will gain access to 5G Use Case Labs, mentorship, and testing infrastructure to refine their solutions. Innovations with potential for patenting will receive support for IPR filing. Winners will be announced in October 2025, with top teams showcasing their solutions at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025. The Rs 150,000 initiative aims to develop over 50 scalable 5G prototypes, generate 25+ patents, and strengthen collaboration between academia, industry, and government. A centralised tracking dashboard and bi-weekly progress reports will ensure timely execution. The 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 is set to drive India’s leadership in 5G technology by bridging research and market-ready applications, fostering innovation, and supporting startup growth. (PIB)