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Kshitij 2026, IIT Kharagpur: Asia’s Techno-Management Fest

IIT Kharagpur will host Kshitij 2026, its annual techno-management symposium, from 16 to 18 January 2026. One of India’s prominent student-led festivals focused on technology and innovation, the 2026 edition coincides with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of IIT Kharagpur, marking 75 years of the Institute’s contribution to education, research and national development.

NPCI is serving as the Title Sponsor, with HCL Tech as the Co-Title Sponsor and Hero MotoCorp as the Associate Title Sponsor and for this edition, underscoring strong industry participation in the festival’s academic and outreach initiatives.

The Guest Lecture Series will feature speakers like Mr. K. N. Vyas, former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and a former Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy; Mr. Ashok Lavasa, former Finance Secretary of India and former Chief Election Officer and former Vice President (South Asia), Asian Development Bank; and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the 51st Chief Justice of India. Also participating are Mr. Suresh Prabhu, former Union Minister for Railways, Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation; Mr. Rajat Sharma, Founder and Chairman of India TV; Mr. Rishi Kumar Shukla, former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation; and Mr. Bipul Chandra, Managing Director of Ducati India. The lecture series will address themes of governance, constitutional values, economic policy and institutional leadership.

The festival will include workshops, a Technology Summit, and a Business Conclave, focusing on industry-relevant skills, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Previous editions have seen participation from organizations such as Bajaj, Boeing, Cisco, and Genpact.

Kshitij 2026 will feature a wide range of competitive technical, analytical and innovation-driven events, drawing student participation from across the country and abroad. Core engineering competitions include Robowars, Drone Racing, Laws of Motion,Championship, Line Follower, Droid Blitz, and Sand Rover, testing skills in robotics, automation, aeromodelling and mechanical design. Mechatronics events focus on autonomous systems, control algorithms and real-time decision-making

The festival will also host multiple hackathons and coding challenges, including Overnite, Source Code, On-Block Web3 Hackathon,Tech Triad Hackathon,Scam Bust Challenge,Lexicognition AI,Build with Gemini and the NLP Challenge, addressing problem statements in blockchain, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity.

On the management and innovation front, events such as B-Plan, the Indian Case Challenge, Enigma (Biz-Tech Quiz),Anadigix and Kshitij Maths Olympiad provide platforms for entrepreneurship, strategic thinking and analytical excellence. Sustainability-focused initiativeslike SolarVision and the WASH Innovation Challenge highlight real-world applications of technology for social impact.

Kshitij 2026 will host large-scale technology and robotics exhibitions, featuring quadruped robots, humanoid robots, autonomous service robots, AR/VR-integrated systems and LiDAR- based installations presented by the Centre of Excellence in Urban Planning and Design (CoE- UPD), IIT Kharagpur. The exhibition zone will also feature a showcase of Ducati motorcycles and a professional stunt show by Hero MotoCorp.

The Megashows this year will be headlined by live performances of Raftaar and Last Minute India, reflecting the scale and outreach associated with the festival