OperAce - India's Clean Energy Challenge
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
OperAce - India's Clean Energy Challenge: Stages and Timelines
Quiz round
A quiz-based round where Team Leaders will have to show their aptitude and answer questions around the concepts of operations & supply chain management and recent trends in this domain.
Guidelines for Round:
- Team Leaders are required to respond to a set of 20 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) pertaining to OSCM within a designated 10-minute time window.
- Evaluation will be based on the accuracy of participants' answers and the speed with which they complete the quiz.
- There will be no negative marking in this round.
- Participants are obliged to ensure the timely completion of the quiz within the established time constraints.
One pager submission
Shortlisted teams advance to case submission round where teams will work on a real-world operations case curated in collaboration with the SPJIMR OSCM Club and NTPC, centred around emerging challenges in sustainable business and industry readiness.
Participants are required to submit a 1-page presentation outlining their problem framing, approach, analysis, and recommendations. Solutions will be evaluated on insightfulness, feasibility, scalability, and systems thinking, with a strong emphasis on structured reasoning and practical impact.
Final round: Virtual Presentation
The top 5 teams advance to the final round to present their solutions for the NTPC Operations and Sustainability Case before a panel of judges from NTPC on 31st January. Each team will have 10 minutes to present, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A to defend their recommendations in front of a jury of industry stalwarts.
Teams are required to present a deck of up to 5 slides (excluding title slide &annexure), clearly articulating their strategy, sustainability impact, and feasibility of implementation. These round test strategic clarity, sustainability-driven thinking, and the ability to present well rounded solutions. Detailed presentation guidelines will be shared with the qualifying teams.
All that you need to know about OperAce - India's Clean Energy Challenge
The transition to a greener economy is reshaping operations; forcing firms to balance cost and scale, while building a resilient supply-chain. Whether it’s solving end of life challenges, tackling policy barriers or addressing structural issues for industrial adoption, real operational choices will determine which solutions endure.
OperAce invites teams to tackle these contemporary operational puzzles: regulatory uncertainty, supplier ecosystems, lifecycle planning, capital-intensive localisation, logistics, and circular-economy design. The competition begins with a quiz that sharpens your fundamentals in operations and supply-chain strategy. Shortlisted teams then receive a live case brief; analyse constraints, craft a feasible model, and quantify trade-offs. Finalists present a practical implementation roadmap to a panel of industry judges, who will evaluate impact, cost, speed to scale, and operational resilience.
Bring systems thinking, data-driven rigor, and sustainability-first creativity. This is your stage to convert complex green challenges into executable operations playbooks and become the next Oper-ACE.
Eligibility Criteria & Team Formulation:
- The participating team must have 1 to 3 members from the same institute.
- The competition is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students.
- Cross-specialization and cross-year teams are allowed.
- A student can be a part of only one team.
- Any deviation from the above-mentioned guidelines will result in the immediate disqualification of the entire team.
Event Terms and Conditions:
- The decisions of the judges will be final and binding on the participants.
- The Terms and Conditions of participation are subject to change at any time without specific notice.
- The amended Terms and Conditions of entry will be effective immediately upon being posted on the website.
- It is the sole responsibility of the teams to regularly visit the website to take note of any changes.
Prizes:
- Winners: INR 50k*
- Runners Up: INR 25K*
Important dates & deadlines?
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17 Jan'26, 10:30 PM IST Registration Deadline
Contact the organisers
Send queries to organizersRewards and Prizes?
Prizes worth INR 75K*
Winner
Winner gets prizes worth INR 50,000
Runners-up
Prizes Worth INR 25,000 for runners up
About SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
- Inaugurated in 1981 by the then British Prime Minister, the Late Hon. Margaret Thatcher, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) is a leading school of management in the heart of India’s financial centre, Mumbai.
- SPJIMR is a part of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and functions as an autonomous institute with entrepreneurial agility.
- The SPJIMR Campus is spread over an expanse of 45 acres in the heart of Mumbai city, the commercial capital of India and a global financial hub.
- It has a campus lake and over 250 plant species. The campus also has 72 species of birds, making it a naturalist's delight. The greenery and shrubs also conceal 4 species of snakes.
- It is equipped with the best residential amenities that strengthen the feeling of belonging and provide students the necessary impetus to a more cohesive learning environment. The recently enhanced hostel facilities include easy access to computer facilities and library and amenities like television, table-tennis tables, water filters and coolers, coffee vending machines as well as washing machines. Furthermore, all rooms are networked and students are connected through a 24-hour Internet facility, SPINX, the Institute Intranet and messaging applications.
- The SPJIMR Song: We learn, we share; We teach, we care…