About GBH 2026
Why GBH exists,and who is behind it.
The Great Bharat Hackathon 2026 is a Pan-India, 8-hour hackathon on one theme: AI for Bharat. It is organised by DevAarambh in association with the Border Security Force (BSF), which sets a dedicated track of real-world problem statements, with Devnovate as Ecosystem partner. The build day is in Gwalior.
- In Gwalior, with the Border Security Force
- One day, eight hours, in person
- Teams of 2 to 4 developers
The one theme
What is AI for Bharat?
AI for Bharat is AI that solves a real problem for people in India: in the language they speak, on the phone they carry, in the places they live and work. A jawan at a border post, a farmer checking a crop, a family filling in a government form.
Every team at GBH turns AI into a practical application across governance, security, education, logistics and public service, with any model or API it chooses, in the cloud or on the device.
Any model or API
Cloud models and APIs such as Gemini or OpenAI, open models, or your own fine-tune: pick what fits the problem.
In people’s own language
Help in Hindi and the other languages people speak, by text or by voice.
On the device, if it helps
One option among many: compact models such as Gemma run on a phone or laptop and keep working with no network.
What you can build withAny language, framework, AI model or API, in the cloud or on the device. Open models, open-source libraries and public APIs are welcome; declare anything you didn’t write during the event in your README.
Why Gwalior
Why Gwalior, why the BSF.
GBH is held in association with the Border Security Force, and the build day is in Gwalior. The shortlisted teams travel in on their own, arrange their own stay, and get the reporting details beforehand.
A national stage in Gwalior
Developers from across India meet in Gwalior for one day of building, on the campus of RJIT, a BSF-affiliated institute.
A mission-relevant track
The Border Security Force sets a dedicated track of unclassified, real-world problem statements: AI for the people who guard India’s borders.
One theme, taken deep
Mentors, problem statements, judging and prizes all focus on AI for Bharat, so every part of the day goes deep.
The partners
Who brings GBH together.
Organised by
DevAarambh
- Programme design and event direction
- Pan-India promotion, registrations and shortlisting
- Mentor and judge curation, and partner coordination
In association with
Border Security Force (BSF)
- A dedicated track of unclassified, real-world problem statements
Ecosystem partner
Devnovate
- Developer community and ecosystem support
Venue
Rustamji Institute of Technology (RJIT), Gwalior
- The campus and venue for the build day
- A BSF-affiliated institute of technology
