The team, which secured the first prize at the SIH 2025, with NIT-W Director Bidyadhar Subudhi.
WARANGAL
A team from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal (NIT-W), has secured the first prize at the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon 2025 for developing a solution to address last-mile connectivity issues affecting farmers in the North-Eastern Region. The event was held at Manipal University, Jaipur, from December 8 to 12.
The team, ‘The Sixth Sense’, was recognised for its low-cost and sustainable infrastructure model aimed at enabling the transport of agricultural produce from remote farms to motorable roads in difficult hilly terrain. The problem, identified as a major bottleneck for farmers in the region, often leads to restricted market access and significant post-harvest losses.
According to NIT-W Director Bidyadhar Subudhi, the proposed solution involves a modular transportation pathway system using composite hexagonal slabs, soil stabilisation techniques, eco-friendly edge reinforcement, and sustainable materials such as waste plastic composites and bamboo. The design is suited to regions with high rainfall, steep slopes and weak soil conditions, ensuring durability while minimising environmental impact.
According to the institute, the innovation has the potential to improve year-round connectivity for isolated farming communities, reduce post-harvest losses, and enhance farmers’ incomes. The scalable and low-maintenance model could also be adopted by government agencies and rural development programmes in other hilly and underserved regions of the country.
The team comprised Vatsal Saini (team lead), Kalash Jain, Mudit Sharma and Roma Sunil Dhar from B.Tech Mechanical Engineering (second year), and Raj Shekhar Singh and Dhruv Karmakar from B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering (second year). It was mentored by G. Raghavendra, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Published – December 17, 2025 08:51 pm IST
