HARBINGER 2023

Innovation for Transformation

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#harbinger2023 #rbihackathon #innovationfortransformation

Be a part of HARBINGER 2023

Start Registration

Participants can register to kickstart their journey.
Submit Proposals

Participating teams to submit proposals to one or more Problem Statements. The last date for submission of proposals is March 24, 2023.
Shortlisting of Finalists

Proposals will be reviewed and shortlisted by an external panel of experts.
Development of Solutions

Shortlisted solutions to be developed and submitted for evaluation on the APIX platform.
Grand Finale

Grand Finale - Final evaluation and announcement of winners.

All timings are as per (GMT -10:00) Hawaii

Organized By

Supported By

About Us

About HARBINGER 2023

Technology can make a difference. You invent, We foster.

Post success of the first global hackathon, which witnessed ingenious solutions from all over the world, Reserve Bank of India announces the second edition of its hackathon – HARBINGER 2023 with the theme ‘Inclusive Digital Financial Services’.

Once again RBI invites your innovative ideas for four select problem statements, that are aimed to transform the financial ecosystem by improving diverse aspects of financial services and making it more inclusive, efficient, accessible and secure.

Financial services for differently abled (divyaang), offline Central bank digital currencies, RegTech solutions, and scalability of blockchains. You now have the opportunity to open doors to the future.

Wish to learn more: Click on: https://fintech.rbi.org.in/FT_HaRBInger_2023

Problem Statements

HARBINGER 2023 aims to identify and enable solutions and/or business models that have the potential to make digital financial services more accessible, efficient, compliant and effective, enriching the experience of the users while exploring the technologies that can make the systems more robust and scalable.

Digital banking services for differently abled (Divyaang)

Innovative, easy-to-use, digital banking services for differently abled (Divyaang)

In order to empower the differently abled (Divyaang) people of the country with digital banking services, easy-to-use innovative solutions for digital banking services such as digital payments, account opening, account statement, payment of utility bills, usage of debit/credit cards, etc., may be explored. This would provide equal opportunity to the physically challenged without any discrimination by the digitisation of banking and enable a greater inclusion of the physically challenged into the mainstream

Improving scalability of blockchains

Increasing transactions per second (TPS)/ throughput and scalability of blockchains.

Lack of scalability is a significant challenge in the broader
adoption of blockchain technology, as may be in the case of CBDC-R. We may
explore technology solutions which may increase the TPS and scalability for broader
adoption and exploring more use-cases of blockchain.

Innovative RegTech solutions for Regulated Entities

RegTech solutions to facilitate more efficient compliance for Regulated Entities (REs).

RegTech, or Regulatory Technology, applies innovative capabilities and techniques to help financial institutions improve their regulatory governance, reporting,
compliance and risk management. In this problem statement, RegTech solutions may be explored for efficient compliance by REs.

New use-cases for CBDC-Retail including offine transactions

Exploring use cases/solutions for CBDC-Retail transactions, including transactions in offline mode.

Participants may explore such use cases/solutions for CBDC-R transactions, including transactions in offline mode, where the wallets must be able to independently verify the authenticity of any CBDC transaction without communicating with the server during the transactions, while mitigating the risk ‘of double spending’.

Prize

Your Chance to Win Starts Here

One winner and one Runner-up for each problem statement

Winner

₹ 40,00,000 to be awarded to the winner in each of the Problem Statement Categories.

Runner-up

₹ 20,00,000 to be awarded to the Runner-up in each of the Problem Statement Categories.

Eligibility

(i) An entity or individuals who are of age eighteen years and above and are eligible to enter into a contractual agreement.

Participants from all backgrounds and geographies are welcome, albeit knowledge about the Indian financial services market and consumers is preferred.

FAQ

Who can apply?

Anyone - Individuals (eighteen years and above) and enterprises (including startups) from all geographies are welcome to apply under this global challenge. It is especially suited for enterprises (including startups) with ready solutions that can be piloted with limited additional development and integration efforts. However, all relevant and impactful solutions will be considered irrespective of the stage.

How many problem statements can I apply for?

You may apply for more than one category if you fulfil all the criteria set out in each category.

Does my solution need to focus exclusively on one problem statement?

No, your solution can aim to address the needs covered by more than one problem statement. We are looking at the uniqueness of the proposition and feasibility of the business model alongside to achieve the desired goal.

Can I submit multiple entries?

Yes, we encourage you to respond to all problem statements that you think you might have a solution for. Multiple entries would be considered, and more than one of your solutions might be selected.

What is the format of the event?

Applications will be received only through APIX platform. The Hackathon shall run in three phases with Ideation in the first phase and Solution Development in the second phase and Final presentation in the third. RBI will shortlist the most promising ideas for the second phase wherein the participants will have to submit the working solution/running code/prototype, on APIX platform. Wherever needed, these solutions may be provided with mentoring, technical and regulatory support so that demo-able products can be created. The winners will be selected from the shortlisted products based on the product pitch and demo towards the end of the program.

Do I need to be a registered company to apply?

You need not be a registered firm for participation in the event.

Do I need to submit a solution after being shortlisted?

Yes, the shortlisted entities need to submit a working solution which would be evaluated to decide the winners.

How will the prize be disbursed?

The prize will be disbursed in Indian Rupees (₹) to the winners as per Reserve Bank of India policies and will be subject to tax deductions as applicable in India. USD 1 is approximately ₹ 81 and thus, the winner and runner-up prize comes down to approx. USD 49400 and USD 24700 respectively

Will the information shared be kept confidential?

Information provided to us through the online application will be shared only on a need-to-know basis within the relevant event and evaluation teams. The information provided will be retained by us post the program for audit purposes and will be shared with an external party only upon obtaining explicit permission from the applicant / authorized team member.

Can I request for re-evaluation in case I am not satisfied with the Judges' decision?

NO. You cannot request for re-evaluation. The decision of the judges shall be final and binding. Reserve Bank of India reserves all rights with respect to the event.

Are the participants allowed to leverage their own IDEs?

The participants can choose to develop the solution via APIX or use their own IDEs. But if they are using their own IDEs then they will have to bring the code, compile it, run it on APIX, and present the running code before the judges for evaluation.

Participant Terms and Conditions

Owned and Sponsored by Reserve Bank of India (“Sponsor”) and hosted on Application Programming
Interface Exchange (APIX).

BY PARTICIPATING IN HARBINGER 2023, YOU (“PARTICIPANT”) AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND YOU WILL BE REFERRED TO AS PARTICIPANT(S)/PARTY.

Eligibility:
(i) The Hackathon is open to individuals (i) who are of age eighteen years and above and are eligible to enter into a contractual agreement, (ii) who possess a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or a product available on the market or ready to be rolled out in the market or can develop an MVP in a month time and (iii) who have an element of innovation or novel application of technology serving common
good. Participants from all backgrounds and geographies are welcome, albeit knowledge about the Indian payment systems market and consumers is preferred.

(ii) Employees of Sponsor institution and its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, fulfilment or other coordinating agencies,
individuals providing services to Sponsor through an outsourcer or temporary employment agency during the Hackathon period, are eligible to participate in the Hackathon in their individual capacity or as an independent entity subject to furnishing of permission from their/its Sponsor.

(iii) Participant must meet the Eligibility Criteria in order to register for the Hackathon. If Participant is
found not eligible or fails to meet the Eligibility Criteria at any time during the period of the Hackathon, Participant’s proposal(s) and/or technical solution will not be evaluated, and Participant will not be eligible for shortlist or final evaluation, or for any Award. The decision of the RBI shall be final and no correspondence shall be entertained in what so ever manner in this regard.

Participation:
(iv) Switching teams is not allowed.
(v) Sponsor is not responsible for, and will not assist in resolving, any disputes between team members.
(vi) The event is an online event and will not require any travel. However, if required to travel, the participants will make their own travel and accommodation arrangements and no travel / halting claims, etc., shall be entertained.

Limitation of Liability:
(vii) The Sponsor, its employees, and associated entities for the event will not, in any circumstances, be responsible or liable to compensate winners or participants or accept any liability for any financial loss or otherwise, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of participation in the hackathon or taking up a prize.

(viii) The Sponsor does not accept any responsibility for entries and work products not successfully completed or registered due to a technical fault, technical malfunction, computer hardware or a software failure, satellite, network or server failure of any kind.

(ix) Participant hereby covenants not to sue, and waives any right to sue, RBI, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, assigns, agents or other representatives for any claim related to or arising from Participant’s participation in the Hackathon.

(x) Participant agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless RBI, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, assigns, agents or other representatives from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees arising from any third party claim that Participant’s work product infringes or
misappropriates a third party’s rights.

Commercial Use:
(xi) Participant acknowledges and agrees that RBI or its affiliates cannot guarantee that any kind of business
relationship will be established with Participant, including without limitation as a vendor or partner to RBI. The Parties acknowledge and agree that there is no obligation on RBI to offer Participant any commercial arrangement, and no
obligation on Participant to accept the commercial terms if they are offered.

(xii) Each Party and Participants shall retain sole and exclusive ownership of its intellectual property, including
copyrights, patents, patent disclosures and inventions (whether patentable or not), trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, trade dress, trade names, logos, corporate names, and domain names, together with all of the goodwill associated therewith, derivative works and all other rights (collectively, "Intellectual Property").

(xiii) The Participants do not intend to create any joint Intellectual Property pursuant to this Agreement or in
connection with the Hackathon. In the event they decide to jointly create any new products or services, the parties shall agree to ownership rights in advance in a separately agreed upon document executed by them. The sponsor and/or its affiliates will not be take any role of facilitator/arbitrator etc.

(xiv) The Participant hereby grants to RBI, a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to display and use Participant’s name, marks and logos as incorporated in their Participants’ work product and to publicise Participant’s participation in the Hackathon.

(xv) Participants acknowledges and agrees that nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to grant Participant either
directly or indirectly, by estoppel or otherwise, the right to use any trademark of RBI or otherwise indicate that Participant is associated with, or endorsed by, RBI.

General Terms and Conditions"
(xvi) This hackathon is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis with no warranty. To the fullest extent permissible by law, RBI expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether statutory, express, or implied with respect to the Hackathon, except with respect to the gross negligence or willful misconduct of either party or its employees or a party’s indemnification obligations hereunder, and to the fullest extent permitted under applicable laws, in no event will either party
be liable to the other party for any direct, special, incidental, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages (including loss of use, data, business or profits) arising out of or in connection with participant’s participation in the Hackathon, whether such liability arises from any claim based upon contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise,
and whether or not the party has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damage.

(xvii) Both Parties shall comply with their respective obligations under applicable personal data laws. The Parties acknowledge and agree that as regards processing of personal data each Party acts as a data controller in respect of the processing of such personal data and it is not intended that either Party shall act as a data processor to the other Party in respect of any personal data unless otherwise stated in this Agreement.

(xviii) Nothing herein shall constitute an employment, joint venture, agency, partnership, business opportunity or franchise relationship between Participant and NPCI. Participant will not receive any compensation from NPCI in connection with the Hackathon.

(xix) The party shall abide by the decision of Jury which shall be treated as “Final” and shall not be subject to review on request of participants. The participants hereby declare to abide by all the statutory laws in connection to utilization of the prize money. In no case RBI and/or its affiliates shall be held responsible for such omissions and errors.

(xx) This Agreement contains the entire agreement between Participant and RBI regarding the Hackathon and supersedes
all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written between the Parties with respect to the Hackathon. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Republic of India, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law, and the Parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Mumbai.