Three independent juries evaluated the applications within the TOI's Ideas for India competition, which took place in Delhi. The jury members noted the high quality level of the submitted applications.
Most of the participants who passed the selection for evaluation were young people—students or recent graduates, although more experienced innovators were also present among them. The jury highly appreciated the maturity of the participants, who viewed complex issues as an important contribution rather than sharp criticism.
The diversity of the presentations attracted special attention. For example, in the category of technological sovereignty, ideas covered a wide range of topics: from eliminating an existing gap in the medium-sized drone segment to developing faster and more effective methods for detecting and countering cyberattacks, as well as addressing issues related to ships that stop transmitting signals ('dark vessels'), not always for innocent reasons.
These proposals were not just concepts. For instance, the project concerning drones was already undergoing field tests in collaboration with army units, and the idea about 'dark vessels' was researched in cooperation with port authorities.