Jammu Smart City Limited (JSCL), in collaboration with LEAD (LJK Economic Growth & Development Dialogue), on Thursday launched the Jammu Smart City Hackathon, bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, researchers and community organisations to develop practical solutions to the city’s urban challenges.
The initiative aims to create a platform for connecting innovative ideas with government departments and other city stakeholders, helping develop solutions that are practical, scalable and suited to Jammu’s needs.
The hackathon will focus on six broad themes—urban planning, green spaces and public realm; cleanliness, waste management and sustainability; digital governance, mobility and smart infrastructure; tourism, heritage and culture; inclusive communities and animal welfare and urban resilience and disaster management.
Addressing the gathering, CEO, JSCL, Dr. Devansh Yadav said the hackathon would provide an opportunity to bring together innovative ideas and connect them with the city’s development needs, with a focus on solutions that can be practically implemented and scaled.
Registration for the hackathon will remain open from September 17 to 25, 2026. Participants will go through a structured process involving ideation, mentoring, prototyping and evaluation before presenting their solutions.
Selected participants will also have opportunities for incubation and potential investment support, aimed at helping promising ideas move towards implementation.
As part of the launch, JSCL and LEAD also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on various development initiatives in Jammu. The MoU was signed by LEAD Convenor Harinder Gupta and CEO, JSCL, Dr. Devansh Yadav.
The partnership will cover areas including cultural promotion, startup and entrepreneurship development, innovation and urban and economic development, with a focus on strengthening collaboration between the city administration and Jammu’s wider innovation ecosystem.
The launch brought together representatives from academic institutions, industry and the innovation ecosystem, including Dr. Suhaib Batt of MIET Jammu; Dr. Jasvinder Pal Singh and Dr. Harnain Kour of Central University of Jammu; Dr. Raj Kumar V and Dr. Yogesh Nimdeo of IIT Jammu; Dr. Vivek Sharma, Kannav Padha and Druri Sharma of IIM Jammu and Vijay Kumar Raina, Gourav Abrol and Alankrit Mahajan from LEAD.
Others present included Prof. (Dr.) Sarabjeet Singh, Tushar Gupta, Rupesh Masson, Gunjan Sharma and Rahul Trakroo.
From JSCL, Pankaj Kumar, Rahul Pandit, Ashish Anand and Neeraj Tickoo were among those associated with the initiative.