SIH26005: Solar-Powered Smart Mini Cold Storage System for Fresh Vegetables in North Easte — SIH 2026 | Wynit

SIH26005: Solar-Powered Smart Mini Cold Storage System for Fresh Vegetables in North Easte — SIH 2026 | Wynit

What they'll ask you

13

Generated from the brief's own wording and the competition's published rules, never from a guess about what this ministry prefers.

Specific temperature and humidity target ranges for each vegetable type?
The brief never answers this, so a panel will. Whatever you decide, say it the same way twice.
Maximum weight or volume capacity expected for the mini unit?
The brief never answers this, so a panel will. Whatever you decide, say it the same way twice.
Target cost limit for the system?
The brief never answers this, so a panel will. Whatever you decide, say it the same way twice.

10 morethe ones a panel gets to if there is time

Has any part of this been shown at a previous event, hackathon or college project?
The guidelines are explicit: your solution must not have appeared in any previous event or programme, of any sort. A recycled project is what a team under time pressure reaches for.
The brief asks for solar power subsystem. How would you build that?
Decoded from SIH26005 itself: A solar panel setup with battery backup to provide continuous power for cooling in off-grid areas. The brief asks for it by name.
The brief asks for insulated storage chamber. How would you build that?
Decoded from SIH26005 itself: A compact and modular insulated enclosure designed to maintain cold conditions for perishable vegetables. The brief asks for it by name.
The brief asks for environmental control & sensing. How would you build that?
Decoded from SIH26005 itself: Sensors and actuators to actively regulate and monitor temperature and humidity levels inside the chamber. The brief asks for it by name.
The brief asks for monitoring & alert display. How would you build that?
Decoded from SIH26005 itself: A digital screen and alert system to notify users about temperature variations, power failures, or unsafe storage conditions. The brief asks for it by name.
Where does your data come from: a published source, one you collect, or one you generate?
No dataset is attached to this problem statement, so sourcing it is part of the work and nobody told you that.
Why not use what already exists? Name the closest thing to this that is already running.
A team that has not named the alternative themselves is answering this for the first time in the room.
Which single thing will you demonstrate end to end, start to finish, with nothing skipped?
Ours, not a rule: a narrow thing that fully works survives questioning better than a broad thing that half works. If nobody on the team can name it, that is the finding.
Show me this working: the evaluators will focus on the working solar-powered cooling mechanism, battery backup integration, and effective temperature and humidity control for vegetables.
This is the evaluator read for your problem statement, decoded from the brief's own wording.
Show me this working: they will also inspect the smart alerting system for power or temperature failures and the compact, weather-resistant modular design suitable for hilly terrains.
This is the evaluator read for your problem statement, decoded from the brief's own wording.

The government's original description (518 words)

Background: The North Eastern Region (NER) produces a substantial quantity of fresh vegetables and horticultural crops. However, due to inadequate cold storage infrastructure, unreliable electricity supply, difficult terrain, and transportation delays, farmers often face heavy post-harvest losses. Most remote farming areas lack access to affordable small-scale cold storage facilities near production clusters and local markets. As a result, fresh vegetables deteriorate rapidly before reaching consumers, reducing farmer income and affecting supply chain efficiency. There is a need for a low-cost, energy-efficient, and decentralized cold storage solution suitable for rural and remote regions of NER. Description: This problem statement seeks the development of a Solar-Powered Smart Mini Cold Storage System for farmers and vegetable producers in the North Eastern Region (NER) to reduce postharvest losses of perishable vegetables. Due to poor cold-chain infrastructure, difficult transportation routes, frequent power cuts, and long travel durations from remote villages to markets, fresh vegetables often spoil within a short time after harvest. Farmers are forced to sell produce at low prices or suffer financial losses due to lack of nearby storage facilities. The proposed system should function as a decentralized mini cold storage unit that can be installed at village-level collection centres, local markets, farmer cooperatives, and farm-gate aggregation points. The system should: a. Preserve fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, beans, leafy vegetables, chilli, and other horticultural produce under suitable storage conditions b. Operate using solar energy with battery backup support for off-grid and low-electricity areas c. Maintain controlled temperature and humidity levels for extending shelf life of vegetables d. Include smart monitoring features for: • Temperature fluctuation • Humidity variation • Power failure alerts • Storage condition status e. Be compact, modular, and suitable for deployment in remote hilly terrain and rural agricultural clusters f. Be energy-efficient, weather-resistant, and capable of operating under varying climatic conditions of NER g. Support easy operation and low maintenance for farmer groups, cooperatives, and local vendors h. Help reduce spoilage during temporary storage before transportation to larger markets The solution should strengthen local agricultural supply chains, reduce vegetable wastage, improve market accessibility, and enhance income opportunities for farmers in the North Eastern Region. Expected Solution: A functional hardware-based smart mini cold storage system suitable for rural and remote agricultural areas of the North Eastern Region. The proposed solution should include: a. Solar-powered cooling system with energy-efficient operation b. Insulated cold storage chamber for preserving fresh vegetables and horticultural produce c. Battery backup support for uninterrupted operation during power outages or low sunlight conditions d. Temperature and humidity monitoring mechanism for maintaining suitable storage conditions e. Smart alert/indicator system for: • Temperature fluctuations • Power failure • Unsafe storage conditions f. Compact and modular design suitable for village-level deployment and difficult terrain g. Weather-resistant and durable structure for varying climatic conditions in NER h. Low-maintenance and cost-effective system suitable for farmer cooperatives, local markets, and collection centres i. Basic digital monitoring/display interface for storage status and system performance The solution should help reduce post-harvest vegetable spoilage, improve shelf life of produce, strengthen local cold-chain infrastructure, and enhance income opportunities for farmers in the North Eastern Region.