Blockchain India Week 12-19 May Brings 250 International Ethereum Developers for Hackathon at IIT Mumbai for Vitalik Buterin Prize

Zero Field Labs is organising India's first ever International blockchain hackathon. The event will be held in Mumbai, May 12-14th, 2017 at IIT Mumbai campus in collaboration with the Ethereum Foundation, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance members like Microsoft, ConsenSys and IIT Mumbai. 250+ candidates have already registered for the hackathon, notably from countries across the globe – Australia, Ukraine, Europe, China, Malaysia and India. The teams will be vying for Vitalik Buterin Prize for Blockchain Excellence with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to be given away by Buterin himself on May 18th. Many technical experts are coming from Australia, Europe and USA to administer the hackathon. The participants are very diverse comprising of Blockchain developers from marquee banks like J.P.Morgan and IT firms such as Cognizant, L&T Infotech, academia & startups. The hackathon is a part of the "Blockchain India Week" hosted by Zero Field Labs and Fintech Storm from 12th-19th with a series of blockchain focused activities spread across Mumbai. Vitalik Buterin, inventor of Ethereum and Chief Scientist at Ethereum Foundation will preside over the activities through the week. The hackathon will be followed by a Vitalik town-hall at IIT Mumbai on 16 May evening, a Blockchain Masterclass on 17 May at Sofitel Hotel BKC and the main flagship Ethereum India Summit on 18 May at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Apollo Bunder, Mumbai. Other key speakers invited are Ashish Chauhan, CEO of BSE, Rahul Bhasin, MD of Barings Private Equity, J A Chowdary, IT Adviser to Andhra Pradesh Govt. An Enterprise Ethereum Alliance India Launch event is scheduled for 17 May evening at Sofitel BKC.

Mr. Buterin is scheduled to meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Naidu on the 19th of May after which he will educate the Govt. officials in Vijayawada on adopting next generation technologies for state governance. Mr. Naidu was persuaded of blockchain after understanding the benefits of the technology at the World Economic Forum 2017 in Davos. Soon after, he announced a slew of blockchain initiatives in A.P such as a Blockchain Institute of Excellence and Fintech Valley Vizag. Fintech Valley is organising the Blockchain Global Summit on October 9-10, 2017 where Mr. Buterin and Ms. Khan are invited to speak, and has also announced a Million Dollar Competition for the best startup. Ms. Arifa Khan is CEO Zero Field Labs, Ethereum's India Partner, and Chair Person of Blockchain India Week May 2017. She also hosted India's first ever Blockchain India Summit 6 Dec 2016 with Mr. Buterin as Chief Guest. Ms. Khan is a pioneer of the blockchain movement in India advising and educating the Government, and regulatory bodies like RBI and playing a substantive role in building the blockchain eco-system and facilitating collaborative relationships between the fledgling developer community, enterprises and inventors. Blockchain India Week is being sponsored by Zero Field Labs, Microsoft, Cognizant, L&T Infotech and ConsenSys. Details of Blockchain India Week and the hackathon are at http://europeindiaconclave.com.
 

Blockchain India Week Schedule May 12-19 2017:
Hackathon 6:00pm 12 May to 6:00pm 14 May, IIT Mumbai, Powai Campus
http://blockchainindiaweekhackathon.eventbrite.com
Hackfest 9:00am 15 May to 5:00pm 16 May, L&T Infotech, Saki Vihar Road, Powai, Mumbai 400072
http://blockchainindiahackfest.eventbrite.com
Vitalik Public Townhall at IIT Mumbai 6:00pm to 8:00pm 16 May
http://vitalikbuterinmumbaitownhall.eventbrite.com
Blockchain Masterclass 9:00am to 5:30pm 17 May, Sofitel Hotel, Bandra Kurla Complex
http://blockchainindiaweekmasterclass.eventbrite.com
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance India Launch – Private Reception (by invitation only) 5:00pm to 6:00pm 17 May, Sofitel Hotel, BKC  
Blockchain Storm Ethereum India Summit 9:00am to 6:00pm, 18 May, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Apollo Bunder Mumbai
https://blockchainstormethereumindiasummit.eventbrite.com
Vitalik Meetings in Andhra Pradesh, 20 May (TBC)

Blockchain India Week Hackathon Challenges:

1. Agriculture & Farming – Making Supply Chain logistics farmer friendly; Linking farmers to markets in cities and international trade corridors like the Flower Auction Market in Bangalore
2. Freight & transportation of goods & produce through blockchain-enabled sharing-economy
3. Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain for weather-friendly crop advice to farmers
4. Trade Finance for SMEs
5. Peer to Peer loan market and on-line lending
6. Person to Person Microinsurance for events like crop failure
7. Blockchain for Governments – Governance, Public Goods Subsidy & Administration, tax collection, refunds
8. Blockchain for Financial Inclusion & the unbanked
9. Blockchain enabled Market mashups – like intersections of industry verticals
10. Blockchain for improving market efficiency in capital markets, financial services, banks
11. Supply chain to track the origin of products: the lifecycle from raw material, through processing, assembly, logistics, retail and resale…
12. Education, learning & certification, vocational training, life-long learning, upskilling for the fourth industrial revolution
13. Counterfeiting of goods like art, jewellery, gold, currency etc.
14. Authentication of pharmaceuticals, drugs
15. Hospitals, healthcare management, vaccinations, medical records & insurance
16. Hospitality & hotel management, loyalty rewards
17. Real estate management, land registry, shared ownership
18. Shared economy – room rentals like Airbnb, car rentals like Uber, gyms, golf clubs etc.