India’s Brightest Crossword Minds Battle at NICE 2025 Grand Finale in New Delhi

The much-anticipated Grand Finale of the National Inter College Crossword Expedition (NICE) 2025 commenced on Monday at the AICTE Headquarters in New Delhi, bringing together some of the brightest young crossword minds from across India.

The two-day grand finale began with the written preliminaries and On-Stage Extra-C Rounds, where 23 teams – both qualifiers and wild card entrants – locked horns in a battle of wit and vocabulary. The participating teams represented premier institutions such as IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Madras, St. Stephen’s College (Delhi University), JNU, LNCT, SASTRA, BITS Pilani, Gaya College of Engineering, Saharsa College of Engineering,and others.

The top 12 teams advanced to the Quarter Finals-

• Ananya Mishra and Yasaswy Mokkapati (SASTRA)

• Shrawon Dey and Kirhen Bhagavath S (IIT Guwahati)

• Adya Singh, St Stephen's College, New Delhi

• Vijval Ekbote, IIIT Delhi

• Arnav V Raju and Divyam Jain ( IIT Delhi)

• Samruddhi S Salgaonkar ( Goa Dental College)

• Kuhu Goel and VKS Gayatri ( BITS Pilani, Hyderabad)

• Ruchira Joshi and Chinmayi Pillamarapu ( IIT Guwahati)

• Navya Garg and Hargun Kaur ( IIT Madras)

• Pranika Seenam and Seerat Kaur (IIT Delhi)

• Youkta Mandavkar and Kamaleshwari TS ( IIT Guwahati)

• Aditya Sharma ( Krea University)

The competition was conducted with precision and flair by Mr. Ochintya Sharma, who kept the audience engaged with his lively quizzing style. Ensuring fairness and rigor were the renowned cruciverbalists, Mr. Ramki Krishnan and Mr. Vinayak Ekbote, serving as arbiters of the contest.

The event was graced by eminent dignitaries, including Sri T.G. Sitaram, Chairman, AICTE; Sri Vivek Singh, IAS, Chairman, RERA-Bihar; Sri Devesh Chaturvedi, IAS, Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Sri Rajit Punhani, IAS, CEO, FSSAI; Smt. Shyama Rath, Member Secretary, AICTE, and Dr.Amit Dutta, Director, AICTE. Their presence underscored the significance of nurturing intellectual competitions that foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills among India’s youth.

The second and final day of the grand finale will feature two Semifinals followed by the Grand Finale, culminating in the Prize Distribution Ceremony, where the champions of NICE 2025 will be crowned.

The National Inter College Crossword Expedition (NICE) is India’s premier annual crossword competition for college students, designed to sharpen problem-solving skills, enrich vocabulary, and celebrate the joy of intellectual challenge. It is a collaborative effort of AICTE, IIT Madras, IIM Mumbai and Extra-C.