IIT Delhi hosts design for Bharat 2026 exhibition; 19 shortlisted teams present projects

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Delhi) hosts a design exhibition under the national design challenge “Design for Bharat—Youth Innovation Challenge 2026,” where 19 shortlisted teams from Delhi present their work through posters, models, and prototypes. IIT Delhi serves as the nodal institute for the Design for Bharat competition in the national capital.

The exhibition forms part of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue (VBYLD) 2026 initiative. According to the institute, Design for Bharat was launched by the ministry of youth affairs and sports as a national platform to engage young people in developing design-based solutions relevant to Indian contexts. The challenge was open to youth aged 18 to 29 years and focuses on ideas aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

According to the organisers, the competition invited participants to identify real-world problems and propose practical design interventions rooted in local realities. The initiative aimed to encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and structured thinking across social, educational, and infrastructural themes. Entries were assessed against defined evaluation criteria before progressing to successive rounds.

IIT Delhi Design Exhibition: Shortlisting and jury evaluation

IIT Delhi states that in Delhi, more than 50 entries met the eligibility and evaluation requirements of the competition. From these, 19 teams were shortlisted in the first round and invited to exhibit their work at the IIT Delhi campus on January 2. The exhibition allowed teams to present their concepts and prototypes for detailed assessment by an expert jury.

The jury panel included faculty members and professional designers practising in the Delhi NCR region. The panel evaluated the shortlisted entries based on established parameters and selected three projects for recommendation to the national-level round of the competition.

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Projects selected for national round

The selected projects include Project COSMO from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Unsupervised Learners from Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Information Technology; and Project Nitara from Miranda House.

Officials from MY Bharat, including director Salil Kumar Agarwal, deputy director Abhay Sankar SR, and programme executive Jayant Singhal, visit the exhibition and interact with participating teams. Faculty members from the school of planning and architecture, Delhi; UPID Noida; and the department of design at IIT Delhi also review the exhibits.

Sumer Singh, associate professor, department of design, IIT Delhi, coordinates the exhibition as the nodal officer. “This event is a wonderful initiative in the domain of design, which will boost the enthusiasm of design students across the country. IIT Delhi, as a nodal institute, also extends its thanks to the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, for their support, which ensured a successful exhibition,” he said.