Union Bank of India rolls out hackathon in cybersecurity, GenAI

Union Bank of India, one of India’s leading public sector banks (PSBs), in collaboration with K J Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai, announced that it has ‘successfully’ concluded the IDEA Hackathon, a flagship event under the PSBs Hackathon Series 2025 in areas such as fintech innovation, cybersecurity, and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

This initiative, driven by the Department of Financial Services, the Ministry of Finance, and the Indian Banks Association, encourages all PSBs to host hackathons. The event received a response from nearly 300 teams from over 30 colleges across Maharashtra, out of which 42 teams participated vigorously in a 24-hour Hackathon leading to a finale of 10 teams.

MD & CEO of Union Bank of India A. Manimekhalai in the presence of Executive Directors of Union Bank of India announced six teams as winners under various categories, including an all-women team and a differently abled team. The winning teams received cash prizes amounting to ₹11 lakh, with the first, second, third and consolation winners receiving ₹5 lakh, ₹3 lakh, ₹2 lakh, and ₹1 lakh, respectively.

Union Bank of India’s initiative comes as the banking sector accelerates its digital transformation initiatives. It further aligns with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) directive for public sector banks to host annual hackathons in collaboration with academic institutions to bolster fintech innovation. The directive, issued on December 9, 2024, focuses on critical areas such as fraud detection, automation and user authentication. This initiative complements ongoing efforts by individual banks and the RBI to combat financial fraud and offer innovative solutions.

Other PSBs are also actively engaging in similar initiatives. In January, Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched its first Cybersecurity Hackathon 2024-25, "Code Against Malware," to combat cybercrime.

Bank of Baroda previously announced the winners of a nationwide online Hackathon on Generative AI in partnership with Microsoft Azure.

Indian Bank plans to host a cybersecurity and fintech hackathon in April with IIT-Madras, addressing endpoint security, fraud prevention, and advanced fraud detection. These hackathons, part of the PSBs Hackathon Series in compliance with the IBA advisory, are being conducted in association with various academic institutions to foster innovation in the banking sector, which is experiencing rapid growth in digital platforms.

Needless to say, banking financial services and insurance (BFSI) firms across India are undergoing a major digital transformation, with technologies such as Cloud, AI, GenAI, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Blockchain leading the way. These technologies are reshaping the industry by enhancing customer experiences, streamlining operations, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

According to banking experts, Indian banks plan to increase their technology spending to around 10% of their operating expenses to keep up with the surge in digital transactions as the central bank intensifies scrutiny on frequent outages. Banks were earlier spending between 6%-8% of total operating expenditure on technology, sharply below the global average of 10%-12%.