"It (challenge) aims to address critical transportation issues, including the lack of reliable public transport information, increasing traffic congestion due to the proliferation of private vehicles and the absence of a unified database for civic infrastructure and road asset management," the release said.

I Jeyakumar, CUMTA member secretary, and Sivarajah Ramanathan, mission director and CEO of StartupTN, took part in the launch event.

Participants can apply online for the challenge until March 28. Winners of the challenge will receive support in the form of company incorporation, mentorship opportunities, collaborative projects with government departments and internship opportunities with CUMTA.

The challenge focuses on five key themes such as interactive open web map for Chennai public transit, seamless ticketing for public transport without manual apps, infrastructure mapping and auditing using mobile applications, AI-based traffic data generation and monitoring and augmented reality application for urban infrastructure management.