Mumbai : NICMAR, India’s premier and dedicated institution for Construction, Real Estate, Infrastructure and Project Management education (CRIP), has received an overwhelming nationwide response to its flagship Bharat Nav-Nirmaan Challenge, with participation from more than 500 colleges across the country. The initiative aims to encourage undergraduate students to solve real-world infrastructure challenges has now evolved into one of India’s largest student-led innovation movements focused on the built environment.

Supported by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the Bharat Nav-Nirmaan Challenge offers prizes worth ₹30 lakh. Designed as a structured, multi-stage and multi-city programme, the challenge ensures wide grassroots participation while systematically identifying and nurturing promising ideas at a national level. Over 500 participating colleges are currently conducting their college-level rounds, each independently hosting evaluations to select one winning team. These rounds will conclude by 31st January, after which selected teams will advance to the next phase of the competition.

College-level winners will progress to city-level cohort rounds, where teams from peer institutions will compete regionally. City rounds are being hosted across 11 key venues including Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Winners from the city rounds will move on to the Regional Rounds, followed by the National Grand Finale, where finalists will present their ideas before industry experts, academicians and thought leaders.

The Bharat Nav-Nirmaan Challenge has also drawn participation from several leading and well-recognised institutions, underlining its academic relevance and national significance. Participating institutions include IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Hyderabad, along with NIT Calicut, NIT Hamirpur, NIT Kurukshetra, NIT Meghalaya, and hundreds of other engineering, architecture and planning institutions across metro cities and emerging education hubs.

Commenting on the scale and impact of the initiative, Gaurav Bajpai, Director, Marketing, NICMAR, said, “The response to Bharat Nav Nirmaan Challenge has been truly overwhelming. With participation from more than 500 colleges and students engaging across multiple cities and stages, the initiative has evolved into a genuine national movement. It clearly reflects the aspiration of India’s youth to contribute meaningfully to the country’s infrastructure and development journey. Bharat Nav Nirmaan is not just a competition-it is a platform where ideas meet opportunity, and young innovators begin shaping the future of the nation.”

The initiative is anchored in the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047 is encouraging final-year and pre-final-year undergraduate students in civil engineering, architecture, core engineering and allied disciplines to move beyond classroom learning and engage with practical, future-ready solutions for India’s infrastructure needs. Student teams are developing ideas across key focus areas such as sustainable infrastructure, urbanisation, mobility, housing, energy efficiency, water management and resilient cities.