SIH 2024 – Digi Post

Digi Post was our finalist project for the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024, where our all-girls team represented our institute at the Grand Finale hosted at KCG Institute of Technology, Chennai. Competing among 86,000 teams and four lakh participants nationwide, we were one of the 1,250 finalist teams (top 2.4%) selected to tackle problem statements from the Department of Posts (DOP). Our solution was designed to redefine postal services through technology, accessibility, and sustainability, incorporating smart tracking, multilingual communication, and eco-conscious initiatives.

During the hackathon, the 48 hours were not just mentally demanding but physically exhausting. The coding sprints were long and relentless, mentor sessions were back-to-back, and every module required constant problem-solving. Despite the fatigue, the team remained focused on delivering a functional solution that combined multiple technologies, including Python, React Native, Firebase, pytesseract for OCR, scikit-learn for intelligent data handling, IoT sensors for real-time tracking, and Twilio for automated calling agents. Maintaining a clean code history using Git rebase was crucial to avoid conflicts during rapid development.

In the first evaluation round, we impressed the judges with our clarity of thought, early prototypes, and innovative approach to postal logistics. However, during the second round, we made the mistake of prioritizing our presentation slides over rehearsing the live demo. This led to several issues: the Twilio calling agent failed intermittently, the AQI and smoke detection alerts were not updating in real-time on the website front-end, and the judges could not clearly observe the end-to-end pipeline connecting all the modules. The session was chaotic, but rather than being discouraged, we regrouped, reprioritized tasks, and ensured that every component of the system was functional and demonstrable.

By the final stretch, we refined the postal ranking system, suggestion mechanism, and community map, creating a clear, working pipeline from detection to backend processing to visualization. This allowed us to successfully demonstrate the solution in a cohesive manner, regaining the confidence of both the judges and the team. The experience taught us the critical importance of pivoting and prioritization: adapting to changing circumstances, especially when technical issues arise, is as vital as technical skill itself. We also learned about balancing presentation with product — while strong slides are important, the working system must always take center stage. The pressure of mid-demo failures highlighted the need for resilience, teamwork, and the ability to recover calmly. Finally, the event underscored the value of team coordination and mutual support, as regaining collective confidence after setbacks proved essential to delivering a successful outcome.

While we didn’t bring home the trophy, the SIH 2024 experience was transformative. It demonstrated that innovation is not solely about winning but about tackling real-world challenges, learning from mistakes, and growing stronger as a team. Special thanks go to our mentors Dr. Sachin Kansal and Prashant Singh Rana for their guidance, and to my dedicated teammates Aarushi Gupta, Aashi Nagpal, Gouri Singh Rawat, Riya Sachdeva, and Yashvi Kumar, whose resilience, creativity, and hard work made this journey possible.

This was more than just a hackathon; it was a journey of persistence, adaptability, and vision that taught us lessons far beyond technology and coding.