On September 23, 2025, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025, a nationwide student innovation initiative aimed at fostering creativity, problem-solving, and self-reliance among youth. Organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the event seeks to engage over 1 crore students from approximately 1.5 lakh schools across India.

The Buildathon encourages students from classes 6 to 12 to ideate, design, and develop prototypes in both STEM and non-STEM categories under four key national themes: Vocal for Local, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Swadeshi, and Samriddh Bharat. These themes align with India’s vision of a developed nation by 2047.

Registrations for the event are open until October 6, 2025, through the dedicated Viksit Bharat Buildathon portal. Following the registration period, schools will have a preparation phase from October 6 to October 13, during which teachers will guide student teams in refining their ideas. The core of the Buildathon, a live synchronized innovation event, is scheduled for October 13, 2025. During this two-hour session, students will collaborate in teams to develop and submit their prototypes in the form of videos. Final submissions will be accepted until October 31, 2025. Subsequently, expert evaluations will take place from November 1 to December 31, 2025. The Buildathon will culminate in January 2026 with the announcement and felicitation of over 1,000 winners.

A prize pool of ₹1 crore has been earmarked for the Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025, which will be shared among 1,000 district-level teams, 100 state-level teams, and 10 national winners. The initiative aims to inspire creative thinking for national development, promote self-reliance and sustainable growth, engage schools in synchronized innovation, project India as a global innovation capital through a potential world record, and celebrate young problem-solvers on national and global platforms.

The Viksit Bharat Buildathon 2025 builds on the success of the School Innovation Marathon 2024, which led to initiatives such as the Student Innovator Programme (SIP), Student Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP), and the filing of patents and startup ventures through Atal Tinkering Labs. This year’s Buildathon is expected to further strengthen the culture of innovation at the grassroots level and contribute significantly to India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.