— National Challenge · Class 6–12
Incubated at REP IIT Bhubaneswar
Free to enter
Top 12 ideas go to XR4STEM Labs
Bharat AI
Challenge
The national stage for student robotics and AI – and for the schools and partners who make it happen. From the classroom workshop to a live Finale judged in front of real industry.
Principal Partner
Official Radio Partner
Prize Pool
₹10,00,000+
FINALE
12 Dec 2026
— National Challenge · Class 6–12
Incubated at REP IIT Bhubaneswar
Free to enter
Top 12 ideas go to XR4STEM Labs
Bharat AI
Challenge
The national stage for student robotics and AI — and for the schools and partners who make it happen. From the classroom workshop to a live Finale judged in front of real industry.
Principal Partner
Official Radio Partner
Prize Pool
₹10,00,000+
FINALE
12 Dec 2026
§01 The Programme
Cohort I · 2026
A robotics and AI programme built on real hardware, judged by real industry, staged in front of a real audience.
XROBOTICS – Bharat AI Challenge takes students from Class 6 to 12 through a structured path: a hands-on workshop using Arduino boards, a project build across six thematic tracks, open public voting, and a live national Finale.
The programme is incubated at REP IIT Bhubaneswar and runs across 100 schools nationwide, in association with Sister Nivedita University as Principal Partner and Fever FM as Official Radio Partner.
100
Partner Schools
15,000+
Students Reached
Six
Award Tracks,
One National Stage
₹10L+
Total Prize Pool Value
· 48 Awards
Your idea doesn't end at the Finale. It goes to market.
The top 2 ideas from every track — 12 in all — are taken into XR4STEM Labs for product development and further mentoring. Selected products are built under XGen AI, launched on e-commerce platforms, and their student creators earn 10% ongoing royalty on every sale.
Top 12 Ideas
The top 2 projects from every track are selected at the Finale.
XR4STEM Labs
Product development and further mentoring inside our own labs.
Market Launch
Built under XGen AI and listed on e-commerce platforms.
Student Royalty
The students behind the idea earn 10% royalty on every sale.
Students don’t just compete – they earn from what they build.
Why join the Bharat AI Challenge?
It starts as a competition. For the strongest ideas, it becomes a product.
Build a real project
Design and build a working AI or robotics project on real hardware — not a slide deck.
Expert mentorship
Guidance from engineers and domain mentors through every stage of the build.
Showcase your idea
Public voting, a live leaderboard, and a pitch on the national Finale stage.
XR4STEM Labs
Top 2 ideas from every track go into our labs for product development.
Take it to market
Selected products are built under XGen AI and launched on e-commerce platforms.
Earn 10% royalty
Student creators earn ongoing royalty on every sale of their product.
₹10 Lakh+ prize pool
48 awards spanning cash, hardware, incubation and mentorship.
National recognition
Certificates, media coverage and exposure across a national programme.
§04 Award Tracks
Six Categories
Six tracks, one national stage.
01
Sustainable & Green Energy
Solar, waste-to-energy, and low-carbon designs built by student teams.
02
Tech, AI & Innovation
Robotics, automation, and applied AI projects built on Arduino boards.
03
EdTech
Tools and platforms that make learning more accessible and effective.
04
Agri & Rural Innovation
Solutions addressing farming, irrigation, and rural livelihoods.
05
Healthcare
Diagnostics, assistive devices, and health-access innovations.
06
Social Impact
Products and services that solve a real, named community problem.
Open track
Judged overall
Sponsored by
Every entry also competes for overall, special-recognition, and women-entrepreneur awards – see the full breakdown below.
§05 Prize Schedule
₹10,00,000+ · 48 awards
Ten lakh in value, forty-eight awards, five tiers.
Students, teams, women innovators, faculty, and school leadership – every contribution to the cohort is recognised.
Total Prize Pool
₹10
Lakh +
48 awards · cash, hardware, incubation, mentorship & market royalty
- 1st Runner-up
₹35,000
- Arduino kit
- Silver trophy, medal & certificate
- 3-month mentorship programme
- Winner
₹50,000
- Arduino Mega kit
- Gold trophy, medal & certificate
- 6-month incubation
- AI & Robotics masterclass
- 2nd Runner-up
₹25,000
- Arduino kit
- Bronze medal & certificate
- 1-month mentorship programme
One winner per vertical track
Best Sustainable & Green Venture
+ medal, certificate & green tech workshop
Best Tech & AI Innovation
+ medal, certificate & AI/ML masterclass
Best EdTech Solution
+ medal, certificate & EdTech mentorship
Best Agri & Rural Innovation
+ medal, certificate & agri-tech training
Best Healthcare Innovation
+ medal, certificate & healthcare mentorship
Special recognitions
- Best Solo Founder
- Best Pitch / Presentation
- Pitch Deck Design
- Best MVP / Prototype
- Best Business Model
- People's Choice — Best Idea
- People's Choice — Best AI Poster
- Best Storytelling
- Best Team Collaboration
Women entrepreneur awards
Best Women Entrepreneur — Overall
Gold medal + 6-month business coaching
Best Women Entrepreneur — School
Medal + mentorship & training
Best Women Entrepreneur — Emerging
Medal + mentorship & incubation
25 principals recognised, not just students.
Every partner school's leadership competes for its own award tier — each carrying a trophy or medal, a signed certificate, and a professional development programme.
Excellence Leaders
Trophy + Gold- Most Innovative Principal Award + Annual advisory board seat
- Best Visionary School Leader
- Principal's Digital Innovation Champion
- Best AI Adoption in Curriculum Integration
- Best Institutional Collaboration & Partnership
Visionary Adopters
Silver Trophy- Most Student-Centric Innovation Enabler
- Best Robotics Lab Champion
- Principal Leading STEM Culture Shift
- Best Inter-School Collaboration Initiative
- Strongest Student Mentorship Framework
- Most Effective Tech Integration in Teaching
- Best Principal Advocate for AI Literacy
- Principal Driving Gender Diversity in STEM
- Best Support for Student Entrepreneurship
- Principal Building School-Industry Partnerships
Early Champions
Bronze Trophy- Vision for 21st Century Learning
- Best NEP 2020 Implementation Champion
- Principal Supporting Hands-On Learning
- Best Creative Approach to Student Competitions
- Principal Fostering Innovation Mindset
- Most Engaged School Leader in AI Movement
- Best Principal Support for Student Teams
- Building Community Around Innovation
- Best Principal Mentor to Young Faculty
- Early Adopter of Robotics & AI Education
§06 Eligibility
Open nationwide
Built for school builders, Class 6 to 12.
Open nationwide, with dedicated outreach across West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram.
Eligibility
- School students, Class 6 to 12
- Every board — CBSE, ICSE, and State
- Apply solo or as a team
- Open to participants across India
What You'll Need
- A real problem you want to solve.
- Willingness to build a working prototype.
- A mentor or faculty sponsor — recommended, not required.
- A short pitch — video or live, at the final.
Outreach States
West Bengal
Assam
Bihar
Jharkhand
Odisha
Meghalaya
Sikkim
Tripura
Manipur
Mizoram
§07 Your Roadmap
Six steps
How to participate.
From registering your team to competing at national level – six steps, one of them mandatory.
Register (Solo / Team)
Apply on your own, or form a team of up to 5 members.
Get your electronic kit
Purchase is mandatory from XGenAI.IN. Keep the invoice — it is checked at registration, verification and submission.
Build your AI project
Design and build a real-world physical AI project in your chosen track.
Submit your project
A demo video, GitHub source code, and a project report in PDF.
Expert evaluation
An independent panel scores every submission against the published criteria.
Winner announcement
Winners are announced on 12 December 2026 at the Finale.
§08 Contest Timeline
Aug – Dec 2026
Every stage, from registration to the championship.
- Counting down
The Finale · 12 December 2026
Registration opens
Schools and students register online. Free to enter.
School workshops
Hands-on Arduino sessions run across all 100 partner schools.
Registration & submission close Deadline
Final date for entries. Projects and posters must be submitted.
2026
Public voting
Entries go live for open voting with a real-time leaderboard.
Finalists announced
Shortlisted teams are notified and invited to the Finale.
The Finale
Live pitches, judging, and 48 awards presented on the national stage.
§09 Field Record
Cohort I
Inside the workshops.
One hundred schools, thousands of build hours, one national stage. Scenes from the ground.
§10 Questions
Six entries
Questions, answered.
School students from Class 6 to Class 12, across India. You can apply on your own or as a team of up to five.
Competition entry is free. Participants do need the required Arduino board, which is purchased separately - see the hardware question below.
Yes. Participants must purchase the required Arduino board from XGenAI.IN. A valid purchase invoice must be submitted during registration or verification - this is mandatory to be eligible for the competition.
A team can have up to 5 members.
Yes. A mentor or faculty sponsor is recommended but not required to apply.
Winners are announced at the Finale on 12 December 2026, immediately after the closing pitch round.
Still have a question? Email the team →
§11 Apply Now
Under 5 minutes
Register for the Bharat AI Challenge.
Takes under five minutes. We’ll email you the next steps and hardware access details.
100 school seats · filling now
What happens after you apply.
We confirm by email
Next steps and hardware access details, usually within two working days.
Hands-on workshop
Your team builds on Arduino boards across the five project tracks.
Submit & go public
Entries go live for open voting with a real-time leaderboard.
The Finale
Finalists pitch live for a share of 48 awards, students, faculty and principals.
Finale · 12 December 2026
Class 6–12 · Free to enter. By applying you agree to be contacted by XROBOTICS about the Bharat AI Challenge.
Class 6–12 · Free to enter. By applying you agree to be contacted by XROBOTICS about the Bharat AI Challenge.
