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HARBINGER – Global Hackathon of RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the results of second edition of its global hackathon – HARBINGER 2023.

What is hackathon?

A hackathon is an event organised to bring together people and entities for the development of innovative solutions for the existing challenges in specified area through problem statements. The problem statements are worked upon by the participants during the limited time-period of the hackathon. It is a competitive event where the participants submit ideas, create solutions, exhibit the prototypes, and the solutions are judged by a panel to arrive at the winners of the hackathon. 

What is HARBINGER?

“HARBINGER – Innovation for Transformation” is a global hackathon organised by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which gives an opportunity to the participants to get mentored by industry experts and exhibit their innovative solutions before an eminent jury and win exciting prizes in each category.

What are the prizes under HARBINGER?

Winners get prize money as below (updated on October 23, 2025) –

  • Winner across each problem statement - ₹40 lakh
  • Runner-up across each problem statement - ₹20 lakh
  • Special prize to the best ‘all woman team’ (a team comprising of only woman members’), across all the problem statements - ₹20 lakh
  • Stipend for each team shortlisted for solution development phase (for meeting the cost of development of prototype) - ₹5 lakh 

What are the criteria to apply under HARBINGER?

  • All entities, teams or individuals (18 years and above), from all backgrounds and geographies, who are eligible to enter into a contractual agreement are eligible to apply under HARBINGER.
  • The product / solution should have an element of innovation or novel application of technology serving common good.

What are the themes and problem statements of HARBINGER?

First edition of HARBINGER – HARBINGER 2021

  • Launch – November 2021
  • Theme – Smarter Digital Payments
  • Problem statements –
    • Innovative, easy-to-use, non-mobile digital payment solutions for converting small-ticket cash transactions to digital mode.
    • Context-based retail payments to remove the physical act of payment.
    • Alternate authentication mechanism for digital payments.
    • Social Media Analysis Monitoring tool for detection of digital payment fraud and disruption.

Second edition of HARBINGER – HARBINGER 2023

  • Launch – February 2023
  • Theme – Inclusive Digital Services
  • Problem statements –
    • Innovative, easy-to-use, digital banking services for differently abled (Divyaang).
    • RegTech solutions to facilitate more efficient compliance by Regulated Entities (REs).
    • Exploring use cases / solutions for CBDC-Retail transactions, including transactions in offline mode.
    • Increasing Transactions Per Second (TPS) / throughput and scalability of blockchains.

Third edition of HARBINGER – HARBINGER 2024

  • Launch – June 2024
  • Theme 1 – Zero Financial Frauds
  • Problem statements of Theme 1 –
    • Real time prediction, detection and prevention of frauds in financial transactions using alternate sources of data including publicly available information.
    • Ensuring transaction anonymity in token-based (CBDC) transactions while maintaining financial system integrity.
    • Identifying mule bank accounts / payment wallets.
  • Theme 2 – Being Divyang Friendly
  • Problem statement of Theme 2 – 
    • Accurately identifying banknotes by visually impaired.

Fourth edition of HARBINGER – HARBINGER 2025

  • Launch – October 2025
  • Theme – Secure Banking: Powered by Identity, Integrity and Inclusivity
  • Problem statements –
    • Tokenised KYC
    • Offline CBDC (e₹)
    • Enhancing trust


References

Reserev Bank of India. (2024, June 07). 'Reserve Bank of India launches its Third Global Hackathon – HaRBInger 2024'. Retrieved from https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=58059

Reserve Bank of India. (2021, November 09). 'HARBINGER 2021 - Reserve Bank of India First Global Hackathon'. Retrieved from https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/pdfs/HARBINGER09112021.pdf

Reserve Bank of India. (2021, November 09). 'RBI launches its First Global Hackathon - HARBINGER 2021'. Retrieved from https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=52533

Reserve Bank of India. (2022, June 02). 'RBI announces results of its First Global Hackathon - HARBINGER 2021'. Retrieved from https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=53799

Reserve Bank of India. (2023, February 14). 'HARBINGER 2023 - Reserve Bank of India’s Second Global Hackathon'. Retrieved from https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/pdfs/Harbinger2023_14022023.pdf

Reserve Bank of India. (2023, October 12). 'RBI announces results of second edition of its Global Hackathon – HARBINGER 2023'. Retrieved from https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=56547

Reserve Bank of India. (2023, February 14). 'Reserve Bank of India launches its Second Global Hackathon - HARBINGER 2023'. Retrieved from https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=55218

Reserve Bank of India. (2025, October 23). 'Reserve Bank of India launches its Fourth Global Hackathon – HaRBInger 2025'. Retrieved from https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=61485


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