HYDERABAD: More than 370 youngsters from the Hyderabad are participating in CODE19, the online hackathon to find solutions for Covid-19 has begun with 6,000 of the best and brightest innovators and developers from India and abroad competing individually or in teams from the comfort of their homes to create open-source solutions against the Coronavirus crisis facing the nation.

The 72-hour event, hosted by the Silicon-Valley-based Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation, will conclude on April 13, 2020 at 9 pm. Total prize money of $34,000 is up for grabs for winners who will be announced on April 21, 2020. The youth of Hyderabad has united against Covid-19, with 374 youngsters from the city contesting in the national hackathon to invent solutions to combat the pandemic in India. Hyderabad accounts for the second largest number of participants from a single city after Bengaluru (533), followed by Chennai (293), Delhi (283), Kolkata (208) and Mumbai (226).

 About 1,142 innovative ideas have been submitted by the participants across six themes related to meeting the Coronavirus crisis:  Open innovation for Coronavirus (481); Social Life, Welfare and Awareness (246); Healthcare & Medication (172); Education and Awareness (92); Research & Development (104); and Travel / Tourism and Industry (47).

 The outcome of CODE19 would be qualitative, open-source prototypes to help tackle various challenges facing India during or after the COVID19 crisis. A total prize money of $34,000 is on offer for the winning solutions, including $10,000 for the First Prize and $5,000 for the Second. The Third Prize is divided into three categories, each of which will be awarded $3,000. In addition, 10 best innovative solutions will be awarded $1,000 each.

Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist and change agent Asha Jadeja Motwani, who is the Founder of Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation: “CODE19 is an attempt to create a concerned community of hackers, mentors, domain experts, and socially-conscious citizens to enable India’s fight against Covid19. We have been completely overwhelmed by the response from thousands of people, especially the youth, from all corners of the country towards this hackathon. Their enthusiasm is palpable.” CODE19 is being organised by HackerEarth, TIE Mumbai, IAMAI Startup Foundation, Mumbai Angels Network, Association of Designers of India, Stumagz and GirlScript etc.