Opportunity brief

Use Code GCET100 to get ₹100 OFF

Open to School Students also

HackCache '26 | Cachedinfo is a 48-hour, fully online hackathon organised by CachedInfo in collaboration with GCET Jammu.

The hackathon is designed to make building accessible to students from different academic and experience backgrounds. Participants do not need to be from Computer Science or even an engineering background. CS, ECE, Mechanical, Commerce, BBA, MBA, Arts & Humanities and other streams are welcome.

The event will take place entirely online, so participants can build and submit their projects from anywhere.

Key Dates

Registrations open: 24 August 2026
Registration deadline: 20 October 2026
Problem statements/resources released: 22 October 2026
Hackathon: 23–24 October 2026
Duration: 48 hours

Eligibility

Open to students from any college or school
Open to all branches, specialisations and academic backgrounds
Freshers and first-time hackathon participants are welcome
High school students may also participate
No specific programming language or technical background is required
Participants can participate individually or as part of a team
Team size: 1–3 members
Inter-college teams: Allowed
Inter-specialisation/branch teams: Allowed

For example, a team can consist of students from different colleges, branches or academic backgrounds.

Hackathon Themes

Participants can build solutions under one of the following themes:

Reimagine Government

Rethink how citizens interact with government websites and digital services. Build solutions that simplify access, improve usability and make government services easier to navigate.

Social Impact

Build technology addressing real-world problems involving accessibility, education, healthcare, sustainability, communities or everyday life.

Banking & Finance

Reimagine how people save, spend, invest, borrow and manage money. Build simpler, smarter and more accessible financial experiences.

Open Innovation

No predefined problem category. Participants can bring their own idea and build something useful, innovative or unexpected.

Problem Statements

The problem statements will be released to registered teams on 22 October 2026, one day before the 48-hour hackathon begins.

Participants will then have the full 48-hour period to develop their solution.

What Participants Need to Submit

Every participating team must submit:

Public GitHub repository containing the project
Live working URL of the project
5-minute demo video
Short pitch deck explaining the project

Use of AI

AI tools are allowed and encouraged.

Participants can use AI coding assistants, generative AI, no-code tools and other resources while building.

However, participants should be able to understand and explain what they have built.

To help beginners, all participating teams will receive:

AI prompt packs
Problem-solving playbooks
Ideation guides
Curated technical resources
No-code tool resources
Pitch deck templates

The aim is to reduce the experience gap between participants and help students focus on solving problems and building useful products.

Judging

Every submission will be independently evaluated by the judging panel using the same five criteria.

Score — 50 points

Innovation — 10 points
Technical Execution — 10 points
Design & UX — 10 points
Impact — 10 points
Presentation — 10 points

The scores from the judges will be averaged to determine the final ranking. No single judge can independently determine the result.

The judging panel includes professionals and academics from organisations including Metropolis Healthcare, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, GCET Jammu, Aditya Birla Capital, Sharda University and C-DAC India.

Prizes & Opportunities

HackCache '26 has an overall value of ₹1.22 lakh+, including cash prizes, internships, travel, experiences and other benefits.

1st Place

The winning team receives:

3 paid internship opportunities
₹5,000 per person
₹15,000 total internship payout
Fully funded 2-day McLeod Ganj trip with the founders
Free mock interview
Resume-building session
Recommendation letters from judges
Hackathon T-shirts

The internships are remote and flexible, with work assigned through a dedicated internship platform.

2nd & 3rd Place

Free 1-on-1 mock interview
Resume-building session
Recommendation letters from judges
Hackathon T-shirt

Every Team That Submits

Every team that completes a valid submission receives:

AI prompt packs
Strategy/problem-solving guides
Pitch deck templates
Support resources during the hackathon
A verifiable participation certificate upon submission

McLeod Ganj Experience

The winning team receives a fully funded 2-day McLeod Ganj experience with the CachedInfo founders.

Travel, accommodation, breakfast and dinner are covered. Travel is arranged from Jammu, while participants travelling from outside Jammu are provided suitable travel arrangements.

Registration Fee

₹600 per team, regardless of whether the team has 1, 2 or 3 members.

Participants can also use a referral code:

Friend pays ₹500
Referrer receives ₹100 credit

The referral discount is applied during checkout (valid only on cachedinfo).

Important Rules

A team may have 1–3 members.
Inter-college teams are allowed.
Participants from different branches/specialisations may form a team.
Participants may enter individually.
All required submissions must be submitted before the final deadline.
Each team must submit a public GitHub repository.
Each team must provide a working project URL.
Each team must submit a maximum 5-minute demo video.
Each team must submit a pitch deck.
AI tools are permitted.
Participants must be able to explain their submitted project and its implementation.
Projects should be created during the hackathon period based on the released problem statements.
Judging will follow the published five-category scorecard.
Registration fees are non-refundable after payment confirmation.
Slot transfers to another team member are permitted.
In case of cancellation by the organisers, registered participants will receive a full refund.
If the event is postponed, registrations will be carried forward to the revised dates.

Why Participate?

HackCache is designed not only for experienced developers but also for students who want to learn by building.

You do not need to know how to code to participate. Teams can divide responsibilities across development, design, research, product, content, business and other areas.

The event provides participants with structured resources to help them move from idea → solution → working prototype → presentation within 48 hours.

Format: Fully Online
Team Size: 1–3
Duration: 48 Hours
Eligibility: Students from any branch, specialisation, college or school