GRASP 2026 – National College Hackathon
February 5 @ 08:00 – February 8 @ 23:00
GRASP 2026 (Grassroots AI-Based Solutions for India) — a national-level, thinking-led AI hackathon for higher education (undergraduate and post-graduate) students, an initiative by ASME India, in collaboration with KRUU, Capital Goods & Strategic Skill Council (CGSSC) and ICTAK, a global project-based learning platform.
GRASP is a 72-hour structured national hackathon designed to encourage clear thinking, real-world problem solving, and applied AI reasoning, aligned with industry and global innovation practices. The initiative is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students across disciplines, including engineering, science, healthcare, management, design, and interdisciplinary programs.
GRASP is not a coding marathon. It is a national-level AI hackathon designed to identify and reward clear thinking, real-world relevance, and applied AI reasoning.
In a world obsessed with implementation speed, we prioritize the “Why” and the “How”. GRASP mirrors how ideas are evaluated in global innovation ecosystems.
The Repository. 4 Strategic Domains.
AI for Social Good
Empowering underserved communities through inclusive AI design, focused on bridging the digital divide in rural India.
AI for Medicine
Bridging the specialist gap with diagnostic and predictive AI, specifically tailored for resource-constrained clinics.
AI for Education
Hyper-personalizing learning for 250 million students. Solving for regional language barriers and cognitive accessibility.
Applied Engineering
Solving logistics, infrastructure, and manufacturing hurdles at scale using vision, sound, and motion data.
The Methodology
GRASP moves beyond unstructured sprints. All teams must complete the full stack of mandatory worksheets designed to surface depth of reasoning and reduce articulation bias.
- Problem Framing: Stakeholders, relevance, and root cause.
- Context & Constraints: Technical, social, and India-specific hurdles.
- Solution Direction: AI approach rationale and alternatives.
- System Design: Architecture and logical decision flow.
- Thinking Audit: Assumptions, failure modes, and missed data.
- Impact & Feasibility: Beneficiaries and realistic next steps.
Who could participate?
- Undergraduate and postgraduate college students across India from Engineering, science, healthcare, management, design, and interdisciplinary programs
- Teams of exactly three (3) students
Program Schedule
| 5 February 2026 | Program Launch – National announcement – Registrations open – Domains and evaluation philosophy shared Registration Details – Teams register under a preferred domain – Cross-disciplinary teams encouraged – One submission per team |
| 6 February 2026 | Kick-off and Masterclasses 09:00 AM – Problem Statement Reveal 11:00 AM – Domain Masterclass 02:00 PM – Executive Window opens |
| 6-7 February 2026 | Deep Design & Submission 10:00 AM – System Design Sprint 04:00 PM – Thinking Audit 11:59 PM – Final Submission Deadline |
| 8 February 2026 | Evaluation & Results 06:00 AM – AI-based Shortlisting 02:00 PM – Jury deep-dive phase 08:00 PM – Grand finale |
Awards & Outcomes
Winner – INR 1,00,000
1st Runner up – INR 50,000
2nd Runner up – INR 20,000
4th place – INR 10,000
Special Mention (x4) – INR 5000
Organized by:
KRUU Edutech Private Limited
ASME India