Six young innovators from West Bengal have secured places in the national Top 40 of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026, with technology-led ideas focused on wage transparency, communication accessibility and the wellbeing of elderly people living alone. Rahul Gupta and Anushka Gupta from Kolkata are developing an AI-based solution aimed at simplifying complex minimum wage information and making it easier for workers in sectors such as construction, domestic work and agriculture to understand their entitlements.
Sayak Samanta and Soufir Rahman are working on Sign Bridge AI, which explores real-time translation of sign language into speech and text to improve communication accessibility for people with hearing and speech disabilities. Meanwhile, Shourjiya Chakraborty and AishiMukhopadhyay are developing a technology-based solution to help families and caregivers monitor the wellbeing of elderly people living alone and identify possible changes requiring attention.
Kolkata is particularly significant as the city continues to emerge as a growing hub for technology, startups and youth-led innovation. Solutions addressing labour welfare, accessibility and elder care could find wider relevance in Bengal’s urban and expanding digital ecosystem, potentially creating opportunities for future development and market adoption. The Top 40 teams will attend a 10-day Innovation Boot camp with mentoring from startup founders and industry experts at FITT-IIT Delhi before competing for the Top 20. The four winning teams will collectively receive incubation grants worth ₹2 crore, along with incubation support from FITT-IIT Delhi.