Shillong, May 15: Three organisations from Northeast got top three spots at the NER Tech Hackathon which concluded in Bengaluru on May 12. Sixty teams from colleges and start-ups across India participated to develop innovative 5G-based solutions for real-world challenges.
The event was organized by the North Eastern Regional Community Resource Management Society (NERCORMS) in collaboration with Amantya Technologies, under a project supported by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India.
The hackathon is part of the project titled “Deepening of Scientific Research on 5G Use Cases for Solving Challenges of Society.” The first edition was held in Guwahati in March this year.
Over 1,000 entries were received for the Bengaluru edition, with the final 60 shortlisted teams presenting projects in areas such as Healthcare, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and IoT for Oil & Gas.
The first prize went to AkumenAI (Manipur) who got Rs ₹10 lakh. AkumenAI is led by Thiyam Akuvan. The second prize went to OncoALERT (Assam) who were declared Runners-up with a cash award of ₹2 lakh while DESIGO (IIT Guwahati Alumni) were declared runners-up with cash prize of ₹2 lakh.
Satinder Kumar Bhalla, Secretary of NEC, who inaugurated the event highlighted the importance of 5G in accelerating development in the Northeastern Region. “Solutions born here won’t just tackle one problem—they will trigger contributions across sectors in the Northeast,” he said.
Lorho Pfoze, Former Vice Chairman of the North East MPs Forum, emphasized that such initiatives can help position the Northeast as a technology hub and India’s gateway to Southeast Asia.
The event was attended by industry leaders and experts from organizations such as Jio Platforms, Airtel, IIT Guwahati, IARI Delhi, Dassault Systems, and Venture Catalysts, among others.
Each team showcased live demos and proof of concept, addressing practical problems faced in the Northeastern states.
