Gujarat Police To Link 80,000 CCTV Cameras In State’s Largest AI-Based Video Analytics Hackathon
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
In a major push towards technology-driven policing, the Gujarat Police is set to organise what it describes as the country’s largest hackathon on CCTV integration and artificial intelligence-based video analytics, with the aim of connecting more than 80,000 cameras across the state on a single network.
The initiative, titled the ‘Gujarat Police Innovation Challenge 2026’, will bring together startups, technology companies, developers, researchers and innovators to develop solutions for real-world policing and public safety challenges.
The hackathon is being organised under the guidance of Gujarat Director General of Police G S Malik. According to police, the initiative seeks to build a scalable public safety ecosystem capable of integrating CCTV cameras deployed by different government departments despite differences in vendors, technologies, video management systems (VMS) and network architectures.
AI To Detect Suspicious Activity In Real Time
A key feature of the challenge will be the testing of AI-based solutions using live CCTV feeds in real-world policing scenarios. Police said this would be the first such initiative in the country where participants would be required to demonstrate their technologies using live camera feeds.
The solutions to be tested include real-time identification of suspicious persons and vehicles, detection of unusual activities and generation of immediate alerts.
The challenge will also assess technologies for automatic number plate recognition, vehicle tracking, watchlist matching and searches across multiple cameras.
Competition To Be Held In Two Stages
The competition will be conducted in two stages. The first, the Open Innovation Challenge, will have two categories. The first category will be open to students and small and medium-sized startups, while the second will be open to larger startups and established technology companies.
The six best-performing teams from the first stage will advance to the finale, where they will demonstrate their solutions in a live production environment based on real-world policing scenarios.
The winning teams will receive cash prizes totalling ₹37 lakh, police said.
Aim To Integrate Fragmented CCTV Network
The initiative is aimed at overcoming the challenge posed by the fragmented nature of CCTV infrastructure across the state and creating an integrated surveillance system that can help police respond faster to incidents.
The hackathon is expected to begin in September. Details regarding eligibility, participation, rules and guidelines have been made available on the official portal.
i-Hub, DA-IICT And NFSU To Support Initiative
The initiative is being organised with technology partnership support from i-Hub, Gujarat, and knowledge partnership support from DA-IICT and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).
The Gujarat Police said the initiative is intended to mark a shift towards smart policing, with AI and integrated surveillance technologies being used to strengthen crime prevention, detection and real-time response.
