CM Rekha launches Delhi Next civic-tech drive, 60 pilots planned

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday launched Delhi Next, described as the country’s largest civic-tech innovation programme, at the Delhi Secretariat. On the occasion, she announced that unlike conventional hackathons, the top 60 selected solutions will be implemented as pilot projects within the relevant Government departments, with successful models then integrated into the Government system in phases so that citizens receive direct benefits.

The programme, titled Code, Create and Change, drew participation from startups, researchers, educational institutions, and young innovators across the country. The initiative aims to develop technology-based solutions for Delhi’s real civic and urban challenges across areas including 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 ran in three stages. The first stage involved an awareness and outreach campaign that 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 evaluated more than 5,000 technical proposals and shortlisted 1,000 participants for the next round. In the final stage, the top 60 teams gave live demonstrations of their working prototypes before the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister said the biggest distinction between Delhi Next and a conventional hackathon is what happens after the competition ends. She said selected solutions will not remain limited to demonstrations or prizes but will proceed to pilot testing with departmental support.

Each of the top 60 teams will be linked with the relevant Government department, mentored by experts, and given a clear roadmap for integrating their solution into the Government system. Each team leaves with a working Minimum Viable Product, a departmental mentor, a pilot implementation plan, and a roadmap for full integration.

The scale of participation distinguishes Delhi Next from most comparable Government-run innovation programmes. Getting 2.5 lakh registrations, 5,000-plus technical proposals, and 60 working prototypes demonstrated live before the Chief Minister at a single event represents a significant mobilisation of young technical talent around civic problems.