Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Commerce, and Industries, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science & Technology and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, Co-Founder and COO of CoinSwitch, inaugurated Building Future Cities 24-hour blockchain hackathon in Bengaluru on Friday.

The hackathon aims to stimulate blockchain-based smart solutions to urban problems, and received over 1500 registrations. Over the course of 24-hours, the participants will devise and exhibit blockchain-based solutions to problem statements on smart mobility, energy credits and trading, decentralized waste management, secure digital identity and certificate management, efficient and transparent vaccine distribution, and farm supplies and supply chain management.

The blockchain hackathon is being organized by ​​CoinSwitch, India’s largest Crypto investing app, in association with Startup Karnataka, a Government of Karnataka initiative, and Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament (Bangalore South). The hackathon is also supported by Sequoia India.

Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Commerce, and Industries, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science & Technology said, “Karnataka has been at the forefront of innovation in India. Bengaluru has the highest number of unicorns in the country, 3 out of 4 decacorns in India are from Bengaluru. In the next 24-hours I hope the youngsters who are here at the blockchain hackathon will come up with innovative solutions that we can implement in the Government and Public Service.”

“India’s everyday challenges in smart mobility, urban waste management or farm supplies and distribution have remained unsolved despite technological advancements. This is so as technological solutions are mostly built by companies of the West. Blockchain enables a participatory development that has not been possible before: We can create smart solutions that are open and shared and can be implemented at a large scale without external dependencies. Building Future Cities hackathon is an earnest attempt to kickstart an innovation cycle in Bengaluru—to build in India for India, on blockchain,” said Vimal Sagar Tiwari, Co-Founder and COO, CoinSwitch.

The winners will be rewarded with a prize money of Rs 3 lakh, with the total prize pool of the hackathon set at Rs 6 lakh.

About Startup Karnataka

The Government of Karnataka is proud to be the first state to announce the Startup Policy in 2015! The Karnataka Startup Policy aims is to promote Bangalore and Karnataka as the ultimate startup destination in the World. For more information, visit: startup.karnataka.gov.in

About Tejasvi Surya

Shri Tejasvi Surya is the Member of Parliament from the Bengaluru South constituency. A lawyer by training and profession he was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2019 general election. Only 28 years old then, Surya emerged as an important symbol of the youth playing a crucial role in India’s polity, a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheme of things. In 2020, Surya took over as the National President of the BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

About CoinSwitch

CoinSwitch is on a mission to Make Money Equal for All. India’s largest Crypto investing app and a Great Place to Work®, CoinSwitch is creating an ecosystem that simplifies Crypto and is trusted by over 18 million registered users. Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, and backed by blue chip investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, Paradigm, and Coinbase Ventures, the company is evolving into a wealth-tech destination for every Indian. For more information, visit: www.coinswitch.co