She said that the top 60 projects developed under the initiative will be implemented as pilot projects by govt departments.
Speaking at the launch event at Delhi Secretariat, Gupta said the initiative goes beyond a conventional hackathon by ensuring that winning ideas are integrated into governance instead of ending with prize distribution. “Delhi Next is a bridge between governance and innovation,” she said, adding that the govt wants to make Delhi the nation’s “civic-tech capital”.The programme brings together students, start-ups, researchers, educational institutions and innovators to develop technology-driven solutions for real civic issues, including traffic management, waterlogging, smart parking, air pollution, waste management, electric vehicle ecosystem, digital governance and citizen grievance redressal, she said.
According to govt, the outreach campaign reached over one crore young people across the country.More than 2.5 lakh participants registered for the programme. An expert committee evaluated over 5,000 technical proposals before shortlisting 1,000 participants. The final round saw the top 60 teams present live demonstrations of their working prototypes before the chief minister.The selected teams will receive long-term govt support, including mentorship from the concerned departments, pilot testing of their solutions and a roadmap for integrating successful models into govt’s functioning. Each team will also get departmental guidance to help develop a working minimum viable product (MVP) and prepare for implementation.
Gupta said young people should be viewed as partners in governance rather than merely competitors. She said future govts would increasingly rely on data, artificial intelligence, digital innovation and citizen participation to deliver more transparent, efficient and accountable public services. The initiative aims to create practical solutions that directly improve governance and benefit Delhi’s residents, she added.
