The Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering at IIT Delhi has achieved national recognition at the Sanrachna 2026: Product Development and Design Hackathon, with three research-driven innovations securing positions among the competition’s top three winning ideas. The hackathon was organised by TBD Campus in collaboration with the Ministry of Textiles under the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM).
The achievement came after a highly competitive selection process that attracted more than 700 applications from across India. Out of these, only 31 teams qualified for the final round. All three award-winning projects from IIT Delhi were developed under the guidance of Prof. Harun Venkatesan, highlighting the institute’s growing contribution to innovation in technical textiles.
Among the winning entries was BacCelAero, developed by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Ankita Sharma. The innovation focuses on a sustainable bacterial cellulose aerogel designed for diabetic wound care and emergency haemorrhage management, offering an advanced solution for healthcare applications.
The second recognised innovation was developed by PhD scholars Sudipto Behera and Sukriti Baliyan. Their project features an ultra-lightweight aerogel-based sleeping bag and mattress system designed for soldiers, disaster response personnel and mountaineers operating in extremely cold environments, providing enhanced thermal insulation while remaining lightweight.
The third award-winning project, KISAN-SHIELD: Multifunctional Protective Textile for Indian Farmers, was developed by MTech graduate Sambhaskar Singh. The protective textile is engineered to safeguard farmers from multiple occupational hazards, including heat stress, ultraviolet radiation, rainfall, humidity and insect exposure.
The innovators were felicitated by Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh during the grand finale of the hackathon, held at Bharat Tex 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from July 14 to July 17, 2026.
The recognition underscores IIT Delhi’s continued focus on developing advanced technical textile solutions for critical sectors such as healthcare, defence, disaster management and agriculture, while reinforcing the growing importance of research-led innovation in strengthening India’s technical textiles ecosystem.
