New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday chaired ‘Delhi Next – Code, Create and Change’ at the Delhi Secretariat, the country’s largest civic-tech innovation programme, hoping that the city will soon become the country’s civic-tech capital.

The initiative aims to bring together young people, startups, researchers, educational institutions and innovators on a common platform to develop technology-based solutions for Delhi’s real civic and urban challenges.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said governance today cannot remain confined to policymaking alone.

She said the need of the hour is to develop effective and lasting solutions through technology, innovation and public participation.

She described ‘Delhi Next’ as more than just a hackathon, calling it a bridge between governance and innovation that will connect young minds directly with the government system.

Expressing confidence in the country’s youth, the Chief Minister said they possess immense talent and can bring major change to governance if provided with the right platform, proper guidance and suitable opportunities.

She said the Delhi Government sees young people not merely as participants in a competition but as equal partners in good governance.

She added that the youth are not just the future of the country but its brightest present in the mission to build a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Chief Minister Gupta said that while conventional hackathons often conclude with the distribution of prizes, the biggest strength of Delhi Next is that the selected solutions will not remain limited to demonstrations.

Instead, they will be implemented as pilot projects with the support of the concerned government departments. Successful models will then be integrated into the government system in a phased manner so that citizens receive direct benefits.

The innovation programme focused on finding solutions to Delhi’s real civic challenges. Participants developed innovative solutions in areas such as urban infrastructure, waterlogging, traffic management, smart parking, air pollution, waste management, the electric vehicle ecosystem, citizen grievance redressal, digital governance and public services.

The programme was conducted in three stages. During the first stage, the awareness and outreach campaign reached more than one crore young people across the country. In the second stage, over 2.5 lakh youth registered for the programme.

An expert committee carried out a detailed evaluation of more than 5,000 technical proposals and shortlisted 1,000 participants for the next round. In the final stage, the top 60 teams selected from across the country gave live demonstrations of their working prototypes and innovations before the Chief Minister.

The top 60 teams selected under Delhi Next will continue to receive dedicated support and guidance. Each team will be linked with the relevant government department and mentored by experts.

Their solutions will undergo pilot testing, and a clear roadmap will be prepared for integrating successful projects into the government system. In other words, the selected teams will leave the programme not only with awards but also with a working Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a departmental mentor, a pilot implementation plan, and a clear roadmap for integrating their solutions into the government system.

Chief Minister Gupta said the Delhi Government aims to establish the capital as the country’s civic-tech capital, where the government, startups, industry, educational institutions and citizens work together continuously to create new models of good governance.

She said the governments of the future will not merely administer but will deliver more effective, transparent and accountable governance through data, AI, digital innovation and citizen participation.

Describing Delhi Next as an important and forward-looking initiative in that direction, the Chief Minister encouraged all participants and said the ideas being presented are not just for a competition but are solutions that will help shape Delhi’s future. She called upon young people to actively participate in this journey of innovation and contribute to building a ‘Viksit Delhi’.

–IANS

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