VMPL
Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 26: The PW Institute of Innovation (PW IOI), PhysicsWallah's higher education vertical, concluded RIFT '26, a 24-hour hackathon conducted simultaneously across Noida, Bengaluru, Pune, and Lucknow. The event brought together over 2,200 offline participants, with Bengaluru alone hosting 900 developers. More than 600 teams competed, submitting over 500 projects across AI, blockchain, fintech, etc.
The submissions were evaluated by a jury of leadership from organisations including JPMorganChase, Blinkit, Adobe, and Deloitte, that declared Lucknow's Team X as the winner, awarding them a cash prize of ₹1,00,000.
Ishaan Pandey, Abhay Vishwakarma, Anant Kushwaha, and Aditya Kumar Verma, part of Team X, developed PharmaGuard-AI, an AI-powered precision medicine platform designed to personalise drug prescriptions. PharmaGuard-AI analyses genetic markers and drug-gene interactions to recommend optimised medication and dosage while predicting potential adverse reactions. The jury cited the team's strong technical architecture, structured execution, and real-world deployment feasibility as key factors behind their selection.
Abhay Vishwakarma from Team X said, "This hackathon pushed us to think beyond code and focus on real-world impact. In 24 hours, we turned an idea into a working solution that could genuinely improve patient safety. This is what makes this win special."
Beyond the winning project, other finalists of RIFT '26 showcased scalable blockchain prototypes in the Open Innovation track alongside multi-agent AI systems, security-focused fintech tools targeting fraud networks, and research-driven solutions bridging advanced data science with applied technology. Like the Insighters team, which developed a graph-based risk analysis platform that uses graph algorithms to detect high-risk accounts and suspicious transaction chains to identify banking fraud.
Shortlisted teams also won rewards from a total prize pool of ₹2.5 lakhs along with a $1,000 Web3 innovation prize sponsored by Algorand.
Gopal Sharma, COO at PhysicsWallah, stated, "At IOI, our objective has always been to ensure that students work on industry-relevant projects and develop job-ready skills. RIFT 2026 is a product of this same goal, becoming a national platform driving real-world innovation leveraging AI to build innovative tech products. By bringing together students from across colleges, we created an open stage for collaboration, execution, and impactful solutions. Going forward, we are committed to scaling RIFT into one of India's leading innovation platforms for aspiring talent."
With significant cross-city participation and industry-aligned projects, RIFT '26 has positioned itself as a launchpad for emerging technical talent across India.
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