The Governance Challenge (TGC) is a nationwide governance focused competition that seeks to harness the potential of the top students in India, to address real world governance issues. Organised by Samagra, a mission-driven governance consulting firm every year, the challenge focuses on a specific state and a governance-related theme. For the third edition of TGC, Uttar Pradesh takes the lead with the theme of AI in Governance. Over 10,000 students from across India participated in the Campus Round, of which the top 30 teams qualified for the recently concluded Nationals Round. Six teams emerged victorious, and will now advance to the highly anticipated Summit Round, where they will present their solutions to the Chief Minister of the state. Held on November 7-8, the Nationals Round was a crucial stage where teams delivered a presentation before a jury consisting of a senior Uttar Pradesh bureaucrat and an ecosystem leader. The solutions were assessed on their quality and feasibility, and the effectiveness of the delivery. In preparation for this high-stakes round, participants attended knowledge sessions with industry experts such as Dr Nisheet Srivastava, Associate Professor from IIT Kanpur, and Mihir Kulkarni, Machine Learning Lead at Wadhwani AI, and Ujjwal Relan, Vice President at Samagra, who shared insights on implementing AI-based governance solutions. Jury member Sid Ravinutala, Chief Data Scientist at ID Insight, shared his experience judging the competition, saying, “The problems we are all working on are multifaceted and complex. It was great to hear ideas in the National Round of TGC 2024 that looked at the issues from various angles when designing solutions – incentives, cost-effectiveness and sustainability, technical feasibility, political buy-in.”
The Changemakers Series and Panel Discussions
The Nationals Round opened on each day with the Changemakers Series, a highlight of the event where government leaders shared transformative stories from their careers. On the first day, Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Higher Education, Skill Development & Training, IT Electronics & Communication, GoAP, spoke about the ‘India Semiconductor Mission’ and India’s critical need to manufacture silicon chips. Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, shared his insights on the state’s cultural tourism initiatives. On the second day, Amrit Abhijaat, Principal Secretary of Urban Development, GoUP, discussed the preparations for the upcoming Maha Kumbh, and the enduring positive impact such an event makes on its surrounding ecosystem.
Additionally, each day featured dynamic panel discussions with a mix of government and industry leaders. The first day’s panel on ‘AI in Governance’ explored how AI can revolutionise governance by improving service delivery, and solving large-scale administrative challenges. The panellists included Amitabh Nag, CEO of BHASHINI, Prakash Kumar, CEO of Wadhwani Centre for Government Digital Transformation, Pragya Misra, Public Policy Affairs and Partnerships India Lead at OpenAI, and Anand Rajan, founder of Apurva.ai. They spoke of the immense potential of AI in governance, and the increasing need for collaboration between the government and private sectors.
On the second day, a panel discussion on the topic ‘Impact Sector Role Models’ brought together ecosystem leaders from diverse backgrounds, who have dedicated their careers to social impact. The panel was a candid discussion between Sheetal Verma, an IAS officer, Shankar Maruwada, co-founder of EkStep Foundation, Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO of Janaagraha, and Varun Aggarwal, founder of Change Engine, who shared what impact means to them, and advised students on how to maximise impact in their chosen fields.
The Path to the Summit
With the Nationals Round completed, the six finalist teams will now move on to the Summit Round, where they will receive extensive mentorship from government officials and social impact leaders. The government of UP will also be facilitating a Governance Immersion Visit to the state, where finalists will gain firsthand experience of the state’s governance processes, and interact with key government officials who implement policy every day.
The challenge will culminate at a high-profile summit in Lucknow on November 29, where the finalists will present to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The top ideas will not only earn recognition but will have the potential to influence AI-driven governance initiatives in the state.
The Governance Challenge 2024 continues to demonstrate the power of harnessing young talent for driving innovation in the governance space. The journey so far has been one of learning and inspiration, and the next stage promises to deliver even greater impact as Uttar Pradesh pushes the boundaries in identifying and developing lead use cases in governance.
