Real numbers from last season, based on official records: one popular problem statement received 500 idea submissions. Exactly 5 teams were shortlisted for the finale.
That’s a 1% survival rate.
At this stage, there is no jury to convince and no demo to save you. An evaluator is scanning hundreds of submissions, and your PPT has to do the convincing.
Most rejected teams don’t have bad ideas.
They have PPTs that never answer what screeners are actually looking for.
Send me your PS number.
Within 24 hours, you’ll get a personal PDF built specifically for your problem statement.
What you’ll get:
Your PS decoded
What the ministry is really asking for, and the gap they have already revealed inside the statement.
The evaluation clues hidden in your PS
Many problem statements contain clues about what evaluators will care about. Most teams never identify them. I’ll extract them and show you how they should influence your PPT.
Slide-by-slide idea + PPT structure
A structure built for YOUR statement, in the order evaluators are likely to scan it, using the ministry’s own language where it matters.
The data credibility answer
Real sources you can name for your PS, plus the honest line to use when a suitable dataset doesn’t exist.
The differentiation line
Why should evaluators remember YOUR solution when dozens of other teams have chosen the exact same problem statement?
The scoping trap
What you should promise, what you should avoid promising, and what you should explicitly say you will NOT build. Strong teams show control over scope.
The one number your deck should be remembered by
A specific, defensible metric that gives your evaluator something concrete to remember after reviewing hundreds of submissions.
Why me?
I won Smart India Hackathon 2025 at the national level.
This is the same screening mindset my team used to survive the process.
I won’t promise you selection. Anyone who does is lying to you.
What I can control is whether your PPT is structured to compete for attention in that 1% conversation.
That’s the part I make sure of.
Deadline: 30 September.
After that, this page changes.
After booking, send:
• Your PS number
• One line about your current progress
• Your draft PPT, if you have one
Replies within a day
500 Ideas. 5 Seats. Your PS Survival Sheet (PDF) with Zaid Sayyed