NITI Gearshift Challenge (OpRaizen)

NITI Aayog, Smart Freight Centre India, Drive to Zero, and WRI India, in collaboration with the Operations Management Club of IIM Bangalore and OpRaizen, Vista's annual flagship event, invite students, academicians, researchers, businesses, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs to join this mega-innovative business model hackathon.

Participants will compete for substantial prize money, gain opportunities for mentorship from NITI Aayog and collaborating partners, and receive recognition from these prestigious institutions.

The challenge is to develop innovative business models for adopting electric trucks in India's freight sector, addressing financial, technical, and operational challenges while considering environmental impacts.

Round 1 Guidelines:

• Team members should be from the same organization/ institute.
• The event will be held under two categories: Student and Non-Student categories. Cash prizes will be awarded exclusively in the student category. Non-student participants will not receive cash prizes but will have the opportunity to publish their solutions with NITI Aayog.
• The solution must cover all aspects of the questions posed in the problem statement. 
• Submissions will be evaluated based on your understanding of the problem, innovativeness and feasibility of the proposed solution, and clarity of thought.
• The top 10 teams under each category will qualify for the next round where they will be mentored by experts from NITI Aayog and other institutions.

Submission Guidelines:

• The solution needs to be submitted in PPT format containing 8-10 slides (excluding the title slide and appendix).
• Only the team leader is required is make submissions on the Unstop (formerly D2C) platform. The naming convention for the file is <Team Name>_NITI Challenge.
• The maximum file size allowed is 50 MB. 

Round 2 Guidelines:

• Shortlisted teams from the previous round will be mentored by mentors from NITI Aayog and other participating institutions to further enhance their solutions.
• Participants need to present their proposal to a panel of Judges. Participants need to clearly specify how they are going to solve the problem and present their proposal. (Exact timings and medium of presentation will be updated closer to the event date)

Rules:

• Cross-college/organization teams are not allowed
• Teams must comprise a minimum of two members and a maximum of three members
• An institute/ organization can have any number of teams participating. However, if a team member is found participating as a part of more than one team, all such teams shall be disqualified
• Only the first submissions made by teams before the deadlines will be used

The participants must carefully read through and agree to the following Terms & Conditions:

• The format and structure of events on campus could be subject to change before the actual beginning of the event.
• The decisions of the organizers will be final and binding on all participants.