Delhi schools launch civic reel contest as youth innovation challenge offers Rs 2 crore prize pool

Delhi government schools have launched a series of competitions encouraging students to explore public service, civic responsibility and nation-building, while the Delhi government has also opened a 100-day innovation challenge for young people to develop practical solutions to problems around them.

Under the Sewa Sankalp Abhiyan, the Directorate of Education has announced the “Meri Seva, Mera Sankalp” reel-making competition for students in Delhi government schools. The campaign will run from Sep 17 to Oct 17.

Students can create reels around themes including public participation in nation-building, cleanliness, environmental protection, civic responsibility, helping elderly people and vulnerable sections, and respecting public property and national symbols.

The campaign also includes drawing and speech competitions. The drawing contest is divided into two age groups — 5 to 12 years and 12 to 18 years. The speech competition is open to students of Classes 10 to 12, with participation allowed in Hindi or English.

The school-level competitions are scheduled from Sep 17 to Oct 17. District-level competitions and exhibitions will be held from October 8 to 10, followed by the state-level exhibition, competition and felicitation on October 12 and 13.

100-day innovation challenge launched at DTU

Separately, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood launched the SEVA FIRST – Rashtriya Youth Innovation Challenge 2026 at Delhi Technological University (DTU) on Sep 19.

The 100-day challenge is designed to take participants from identifying a problem to developing, testing and potentially implementing a solution. DTU has been designated as the anchor university for the Northern region.

The challenge carries a Rs 2 crore prize pool and includes mentorship and support for promising ideas. Participants are expected to work on problems in areas such as agriculture, waste management, education, rural development and other issues affecting communities.

The initiative is open to students, researchers, startups and participants from universities, schools, ITIs and polytechnics, among others, across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Ladakh.

According to the challenge's official information, participants will be encouraged to first identify and understand a real-world problem, then develop a prototype, validate the solution and work towards implementation.

The programme places emphasis on solutions that are practical, affordable, sustainable and capable of being used beyond the prototype stage.