MeitY Announces Winners of e-Toycathon 2025, Boosting Innovation

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has successfully concluded the first-ever Electronic Toy Hackathon (e-Toycathon 2025) at C-DAC Noida. Organized to foster innovation in the indigenous electronic toy industry, the event witnessed participation from leading engineering institutes across India.

Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, bagged the first prize for its Play Mat Toy, an interactive educational mat integrating piano keys, music, and visual learning elements. Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, won the second prize for Robo-Mentor AI, an AI-powered robotic learning tool. National Institute of Technology (NIT), Durgapur, secured the third position with its Interactive Educational Chart, which helps children learn about India through an engaging, multilingual interface.

The award ceremony, held on March 8, 2025, was graced by S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY; Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY; Sunita Verma, Group Coordinator, R&D, MeitY; and Vivek Khaneja, Executive Director, C-DAC Noida, along with key industry leaders. Anirban Gupta, CEO of Dr. Mady’s Innovation, announced that 2-3 prototypes from the competition will be taken into commercial production.

About e-Toycathon 2025

Launched on November 23, 2024, e-Toycathon 2025 was part of MeitY’s project on developing electronics and IT-based automation solutions for the toy industry. The event attracted 112 teams and over 400 engineering students from across India. The competition was conducted in two stages:

Stage 1 (January 14-17, 2025): An online Innovative Design Competition where 20 teams were shortlisted.

Stage 2: A hands-on prototype development challenge held at C-DAC Noida.

Prize Winners & Innovations

Winning Projects

First Prize (₹2,00,000): Play Mat Toy (Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology) – A foldable, interactive play mat integrating piano keys, animal sounds, and music to enhance children’s cognitive and motor skills.

Second Prize (₹1,00,000): Robo-Mentor AI (Jaypee Institute of Information Technology) – An AI-powered robotic learning companion that helps children build and program their own robots while receiving personalized educational guidance.

Third Prize (₹50,000): Interactive Educational Chart (NIT Durgapur) – A touch-sensitive chart providing interactive learning about India with sound and light feedback in multiple languages.

Consolation Prizes (₹25,000 each)

Compact Mini Drone Toy (NIT Srinagar) – A kid-friendly drone featuring obstacle avoidance, LED lights, and interactive flight modes.

Electronic Cashier Machine Toy (IIIT Senapati, Manipur) – A toy cash register designed to teach children basic math, money handling, and customer service skills.

e-Toycathon 2025 marks a significant step towards strengthening India’s indigenous toy ecosystem, fostering creativity, and encouraging technological advancements in the industry.

Source: PIB