Patna: The two-day Patna Mind Fest (PMF) 2026 concluded on Thursday at the Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP), with winners receiving prizes and certificates across five competitions in three categories — Open, College and School.
The eighth edition featured India Quiz, General Quiz, Creative Writing in Hindi and English, Cryptic Crossword and Word Bee. The event was organised by the Bihar IAS Officers’ Association in partnership with Extra-C, a civil society initiative promoting knowledge-based co-curricular activities.
Winners Honoured
Shreyas Sridhar won the Open Category in Creative Writing (English), while Abhinav Priyadarshi and Vidisha Garg secured the second and third positions.
In Creative Writing (Hindi), Samrat Sameer won the first prize, followed by Suman Kumar and Ranjana Kumari.
The Word Bee Open Category was won by the team of Gokul and Calvin. Shashank, Tayaganthan and Samanway finished second, while Saransh, Samiran and Subhadeep secured third place.
In the Cryptic Crossword Open Category, Shradha Shree secured the first position, followed by Soham Sarthak and Dhairya Pandey.
The College Category saw Naman Bhaskar, Adya Singh and Saumya Shiwangi take the top three positions. In the School Category, Shubhi Srivastava, Hemang Chandra and Nanya Dev Singh finished first, second and third, respectively.
Cryptic Crossword and Creative Writing were conducted as individual competitions.
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Quiz Competitions Draw Strong Participation
The first day featured the General Quiz and India Quiz, with more than 90 teams taking part in the preliminary written rounds.
In the General Quiz, the team Happy Eid, comprising Calvin, Gokul and Ankur, won the competition. Patna Ke Presleys finished as first runners-up, while Mumbai-based Endu Cutlets secured the second runners-up position.
Endu Cutlets also won the India Quiz. Patna Ke Presleys finished first runners-up, while Smells Like Team Spirit, comprising Saswata, Nikhil and Arunodoy, came third.
The top eight teams from each preliminary round qualified for the respective stage finals. Two school teams from Patna, representing Don Bosco Academy and St Karen’s High School, also reached the finals.
Promoting Intellectual Culture in Bihar
The event was inaugurated on Wednesday by Anjani Kumar Singh, Director-General, Bihar Museum. Vivek Kumar Singh, Chairman, RERA Bihar; Rachana Patil, IAS, Secretary, Department of Finance; Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Additional Secretary, Governor Secretariat; Abhay Jha, IAS, Additional Secretary, Rural Works Department; and Prof Rana Singh, Director, CIMP, were also present.
The prizes and certificates were presented by Harjot Kaur, President, Bihar IAS Association, and Girish Shankar, Chief Election Officer.
Over the years, Patna Mind Fest has developed into a prominent platform for mind-based competitions, attracting leading quizzing teams from across the country to Bihar’s capital.
The contests are anchored by Bengaluru-based Nexus Consulting, led by Venkatesh, a recognised name in India’s quizzing circuit.
Focus on Knowledge-Based Activities
The eighth edition of Patna Mind Fest aimed to showcase Bihar’s intellectual heritage while creating a regular platform for knowledge-based activities.
By bringing together school students, college participants and experienced quiz teams, the festival continues to encourage competitive learning, creative thinking and wider participation in intellectual pursuits.
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