Bengal IT dept to organise first state-level hackathon

State Information Technology department will organise "Bengalathon-2017", which will be India's first state-level hackathon. Bengalathon will be launched on Thursday from the state Information Technology department office at Camac Street.

According to the Information Technology and Electronics department, the initiative was taken to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.

It may be mentioned that a hackathon, which is also known as hackfest or codefest is basically an event in which computer programmers and others involved in software development professionals including graphic designers, interface designers, project managers and others participate.

Information technology experts explained the word hackathon as the combination of 'hack' and 'marathon'. Here the word 'hack' is not related to any cyber crime. It is used to refer to a kind of computer programming. Occasionally, there is a hardware component associated with hackathons as well. Some hackathons are organised simply for educational or social purposes, although in many cases, the target is to create usable software.

The Bengal IT department named this hackathon Bengalathon-2017, in which, tech-companies in and around Kolkata will participate. The programmers will develop software on real life challenges faced in Kolkata and Sector V Salt Lake with participants trying to find innovative solutions through the application of technology.

"It will be helpful for the tech sector in the future," said an Information Technology and Electronics department source.