Indus Valley Times

By Sahoo Alisha

Rourkela,Dec.17: NIT Rourkela student team, ‘SWADES’, has secured the winner position at the ‘Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025’. The team was declared the winner for Problem Statement ID 25166, titled ‘Smart Sabarmati Riverfront & Urban Water Bodies’, during the finale round held from December 8 to 12, 2025, at Parul University, Gujarat. The Smart India Hackathon 2025 was organised by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, Government of India, in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education as part of the national mission ‘Hack for Bharat, Build for the World’.

The winning team comprised all third-year students: Nilesh Kumar and Dev Soni from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ritik Pandey from the Department of Physics (Integrated), and Amol Munot, Suchismita Behera, and Ujjwal Kumar from the Department of Electrical Engineering. Their solution addressed critical challenges related to urban water management and public safety through an innovative and technology-driven approach.

Team SWADES designed and successfully demonstrated an autonomous river surface cleaning robot capable of removing floating waste from river surfaces. Beyond waste management, the system is equipped to detect drowning incidents, send alert notifications to nearby citizens through the Sabarmati Mitra mobile application, and provide real-time water quality information to the public via the app. The solution demonstrates the effective use of intelligent systems to support environmental sustainability and enhance public safety.

For this problem statement, around 120 teams across the country, each comprising six members, submitted their proposals. Following a rigorous evaluation process, only five teams were shortlisted at the national level, with Team SWADES from NIT Rourkela being among the finalists. During the final stage, the shortlisted teams participated in a five-day intensive hackathon, where they were required to develop and demonstrate a fully functional working prototype. Team SWADES successfully built, tested, and operated their prototype during this period and was subsequently declared the National Winners for the problem statement.

Team SWADES was declared the winner on December 12, 2025, at the grand finale ceremony held in the presence of the Chief Guest, Shri Arun Mahesh Babu, IAS, Commissioner of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, and the Guest of Honour, Shri Yogesh Brahmankar, Innovation Director, AICTE.