Visakhapatnam: Students from Vignan Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology (VIPT), Duvvada, Visakhapatnam, bagged the first prize at the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025, hardware edition, grand finale held at the nodal centre, Chennai Institute of Technology (CIT), Chennai.

Organised by the Ministry of Education, AICTE, and the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education, ‘SIH 2025’ recorded large-scale participation from across the country, with over 72,000 ideas submitted by nearly 69,000 teams. From these entries, 1,360 teams were selected for the national finale, conducted at 60 centres nationwide.

Team Ecocure emerged as a joint winner for the problem statement SIH25218: ‘Screening Tool for Early Detection of Neurological Conditions’ and received a cash prize of Rs.1.5 lakh. It was shared with another winning team as part of the joint award. Congratulating the students, chairman of the institution Lavu Rathaiah and Principal Y Srinivasa Rao mentioned that the achievement reflects VIPT’s strong emphasis on innovation, practical learning and problem-solving approach.

He appreciated both the team and mentors for securing national recognition at a premier innovation platform.