Sewa Sankalp Abhiyan: Delhi school students to make reels; Minister launches 100-day challenge for young innovators

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The drawing competition will be conducted for two categories of students aged 5-12 years and 12-18 years, while the speech competition will be held for Classes 10, 11 and 12, with students allowed to participate in Hindi or English, it read.

The school-level competitions will be carried out from September 17 to October 17, followed by district-level competitions and exhibitions from October 8 to 10. The final state-level exhibition, competition and felicitation will be held on October 12 and 13, it added.

The ‘Sewa Sankalp Abhiyan’, scheduled to run from September 17 to October 17, has been launched to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday and as a step to highlight the journey of public service over the past 25 years, it added.

Adding another competition under the same banner, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood, on Saturday, has launched the Seva-First Innovation Challenge 2026 at the Delhi Technical University (DTU) with an aim to construct a strong innovation and start-up infrastructure in Delhi.

The 100-day initiative has been introduced to giving young innovators a chance to learn from successful entrepreneurs, start-up founders and industry leaders. It also offers a Rs 2 crore prize pool, mentorship and government support to motivate young innovators to generate technology-driven solutions to real-world problems.

According to a statement, the campaign will cover Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Ladakh in addition to DTU as its central university. Students from universities, industries, start-ups, schools, ITIs and polytechnics across these states and Union territories will also participate in the campaign.

Addressing participants at DTU, Sood described that the thought behind the challenge was to serve society by finding solutions to real-world problems.

“If a farmer around you is struggling, don’t just notice it; solve it,” Sood said, adding that addressing clean-energy and agricultural challenges was “Seva-First” and represented true service.

The 100-day challenge will exhort students to work on agriculture, waste management, education and rural challenges.

Participants will be required to trace national and local issues, create innovative ideas, develop prototypes, get them validated and work towards implementing practical solutions, Sood said.

He added that the Delhi government will provide necessary handholding and support, while promising ideas will be mentored and funding support will also be given through the start-up ecosystem and policies.

(With inputs from PTI)