AI CoE for Sustainable Cities - Airawat

Ideas. Innovation. Impact. 🚀

What happens when some of India's brightest young minds come together to solve real-world urban challenges using Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision?
You get CityLens AI Hackathon Challenge 2026—a platform where innovation meets purpose.
The Grand Finale, held at Technopark IITK, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur on 18 July 2026, marked the culmination of weeks of learning, collaboration and problem-solving. Students from leading institutions across the country showcased AI-driven solutions aimed at making our cities smarter, cleaner, more resilient and more liveable.
The Grand Finale featured insightful interactions with Mr. Manish Srivastava, CEO, Airawat, Prof. Nisheeth Srivastava, Co-Project Director, and Mr. Manpreet Singh, COO, who underscored the importance of innovation, collaboration and responsible AI in building smarter, more sustainable cities..
🏆 Congratulations to our winners!
🥇 Winner – Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Kartik Raj
Shivanee Shrivas

🥈 First Runner-Up – Christ University, Bangalore
Adharsh Jolly
Joann Binny
Jemimah Anna Anil
Joshiny Maria
Albert John A

🥉 Second Runner-Up – Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Hariom Singh

Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding innovation, technical excellence and commitment to solving real-world challenges through AI.
But CityLens is about much more than winning.

Every participant, mentor, jury member and institution contributed to a larger vision—using technology as a catalyst for building more sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities.

This is just the beginning. CityLens will continue to engage students, empower innovators, strengthen India's AI ecosystem and foster collaboration between academia, industry and government to build solutions for the cities of tomorrow.



Sachchida Nand Tripathi I Ankitaa Dwivedi I Arjun Mitra I Shubhendu Sarvagya I Center for Developing Intelligent Systems (IIT Kanpur) I

The AI Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cities was at the MInT-athon 2025–26 Open House Showcase at IIT Madras, where our CEO Manish Srivastava joined the panel on AI and the future of mobility.

Applying AI to public problems is not something any one institution can do alone. It needs the people who understand the problem, the people who build the AI, and the people who steward the data - and trusted forums where those groups actually meet.

That is why events like The MInT Collaborative matter, and why we were glad to support this one. Our thanks to The MInT Collaborative at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

We are building AI-enabled decision support for Indian cities, and we would like to work with more of the teams and startups building in this space. If that's you, watch this space for more.

Welcome to the Team, Anant Pratap Singh! 👏
We're excited to welcome Anant to Airawat as an Engineer.
With experience in building scalable backend systems and a passion for cloud-native technologies, microservices, and high-performance engineering, Anant will play a key role in strengthening the technology behind our AI-driven solutions for sustainable cities.

AI is becoming a key enabler of cleaner and smarter cities.!

We are encouraged to see the approving an AI-based air pollution monitoring initiative, reflecting the growing adoption of data-driven technologies for environmental governance. The initiative aims to leverage AI to strengthen air quality monitoring and support informed decision-making for pollution management.
At Airawat, we believe that tackling air pollution requires moving beyond conventional monitoring towards hyperlocal sensing, AI-powered analytics, pollution forecasting, source identification, and decision support systems. By integrating advanced sensor networks, satellite observations, meteorological data, and artificial intelligence, cities can gain actionable insights to implement timely and effective interventions.

As Indian cities continue to embrace technology-led environmental management, collaborative efforts between governments, research institutions, and technology partners will play a pivotal role in building resilient and sustainable urban ecosystems.

The future of air quality management is not just about measuring pollution—it's about predicting, understanding, and enabling informed action.

👋 Welcome to the Airawat Research Foundation team, Saurabh!
We're delighted to welcome Saurabh Pandey, a seasoned procurement and transaction advisory professional with over 14 years of experience across infrastructure, smart cities, tourism, and the power sector.
His expertise in procurement strategy, bid management, and compliance with GeM, CPPP, GFR, and CVC guidelines will strengthen our efforts to deliver impactful AI-driven solutions for sustainable cities.

Welcome aboard, Saurabh! We look forward to achieving great milestones together.

🤝From research to implementation. From innovation to impact !

Airawat Research Foundation is proud to collaborate with the Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Company Ltd. (MPUDCL) to accelerate the adoption of AI for smarter urban governance across the state.
This engagement reflects the growing trust in Airawat's AI capabilities to deliver real-world solutions for government. Together, we will work towards building AI-enabled decision support systems, strengthening digital governance, enhancing project monitoring, improving citizen service delivery, and enabling data-driven urban planning.
Beyond developing technology, this initiative will focus on deploying scalable AI solutions, integrating advanced analytics and dashboards, supporting pilot implementations, and building institutional capacity for long-term impact.
We are honoured to have this initiative led by Shri Sanket Bhondve, IAS, Commissioner, Urban Administration & Development Department (UADD), and Shri Divyansh Singh, IAS, Additional Commissioner, whose leadership and vision for technology-enabled governance will play a key role in driving this transformation.

We look forward to working with MPUDCL in shaping a smarter, more resilient, and sustainable urban future for Madhya Pradesh.

What happens when environmental decision-making meets the power of data and technology?

This week, we had the opportunity to demonstrate our Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS) to the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, engaging with more than 50 Regional Officers from across the state.
The session sparked insightful discussions on how real-time data, analytics, and intelligent decision support can help strengthen environmental monitoring, improve response mechanisms, and enable more informed governance.
Meaningful change begins with meaningful conversations, and we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.
A heartfelt thank you to all the officers and stakeholders for their participation, valuable feedback, and shared vision for a cleaner and more sustainable future.

We're delighted to welcome Vaishnavi Tiwari to the Airawat Research Foundation as an HR Associate!
With a passion for learning, a people-centric approach, and a drive for professional growth, Vaishnavi joins us at an exciting time in our journey. We look forward to her contributions in fostering a positive workplace culture and supporting our growing team.

🌊 World Oceans Day 2026 | 8th June 2026

The story of our oceans often begins far from the shoreline.

It begins in our cities—in the way we manage waste, move people, consume energy, build infrastructure, and make decisions.

Every piece of unmanaged waste, every polluted waterway, and every unsustainable urban practice eventually finds its way into the ecosystems that sustain our planet.

At Airawat Research Foundation, we believe that protecting oceans starts upstream. By harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence, we are helping cities become cleaner, smarter, and more sustainable through solutions in air quality, intelligent waste management, mobility, infrastructure monitoring, energy intelligence, and data-driven urban governance.

Because sustainable cities do more than improve urban life—they help safeguard the natural systems beyond them.

Sustainable Oceans Begin with Sustainable Cities.

On this World Oceans Day, let us recognize that every smarter decision on land contributes to a healthier future at sea.



Sachida Tripathi .kanpur