The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced a nationwide hackathon to be held during the Global Fintech Festival 2025 (GFF2025) from October 7-9 in Jio World Centre, Mumbai. This initiative aims to bring forward innovations that can help reshape rural technology by addressing the critical challenges in Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems used in agriculture, particularly for smallholder farmers.
Under the banner “Empowering Rural Innovation,” the NABARD Hackathon invites innovators from across India to develop scalable, affordable MRV prototypes with high accuracy. These systems are expected to facilitate automated carbon credit calculation, verification, and reporting for agroforestry and rice based carbon projects. The hackathon is open for applications until September 5, 2025.
Addressing Fragmented Data and High Costs in Carbon Projects
The existing MRV systems face significant hurdles when applied to India’s smallholder dominated agricultural landscape. Many solutions are prohibitively expensive, overly complex, or poorly suited to fragmented farming practices. Ground level data collection is often inconsistent, and while remote sensing technologies offer potential, they remain underutilized or disjointed across various platforms. The absence of standardized protocols to integrate farmer level data into carbon registries presents a further obstacle to the effective verification and monetization of carbon credits.
Participants in the NABARD hackathon are expected to design MRV systems that not only meet technical and cost requirements but are also tailored to the operational realities of India’s rural economy. The ultimate outcome is to identify tools and templates that ensure consistency, reliability, and interoperability of data collected from the field. Moreover, solutions should help unlock climate finance by supporting scalable MRV adoption and enabling wider participation in carbon markets.
Focus on Agroforestry and Rice Based Projects
Agroforestry and rice cultivation have been identified as key focus areas due to their potential for carbon sequestration and their prevalence in Indian farming. Despite the promise of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to reduce emissions, current carbon markets have not grown at the expected pace. The lack of robust, localized MRV systems tailored to smallholders is a primary reason. Bridging this technological and operational gap is vital to drive climate smart agriculture and tap into global and national carbon financing mechanisms.
Eligibility and Team Structure
The NABARD hackathon is open to startups founded on or after January 1, 2020, as well as technology professionals, researchers, and grassroots innovators. Teams may include one to five members and are encouraged to be interdisciplinary in nature. While participation is primarily open to Indian nationals, select entries from international applicants with India specific solutions will also be considered.
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Evaluation Parameters
Solutions submitted to the NABARD hackathon will be evaluated on several criteria, including technological innovation, adaptability to smallholder needs, data integration capabilities, verifiability, cost effectiveness, and potential for impact across agro climatic zones. Compatibility with IPCC or relevant carbon frameworks and alignment with NABARD’s mission to support the rural economy will also be essential.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the operability of the proposed systems in low connectivity and resource constrained environments, a critical consideration for smallholder driven agriculture in India. The ability to quantify co-benefits and the sustainability of the proposed systems will further influence the selection process.
Visibility and Implementation Opportunities
Finalists will be invited to present their solutions during GFF2025, offering them exposure to a national and international audience. Participation also opens the door to partnerships, pilot implementations, incubation opportunities, and concessional financing support. A curated list of promising startups and enterprises will be considered for further collaboration based on the outcomes of the event.
Key Dates and Registration Timeline
Registrations for the NABARD Hackathon opened on July 17, 2025. Submissions will be accepted until September 5, 2025. Demo and mentorship rounds are scheduled to take place between September 20 and 30, culminating in the final pitch and awards ceremony on October 7, 2025, during the Global Fintech Festival.
As anticipation builds ahead of GFF2025, the NABARD Hackathon provides a timely platform for innovators committed to enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of climate smart agriculture in India.