During the fourth edition of The Governance Challenge (TGC), positioned as India's first governance-focused competition, a Round Summit was held. Six student teams specializing in business and public policy presented their answers to the question of what is needed to transform Maharashtra into an innovation hub for India by 2035 directly to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The summit took place on September 30th at the Jamshhedbhai Tata Theatre in NCPA, Mumbai. Finalists were selected from 4429 teams after a three-month competition. This edition of the contest is organized by the Government of Maharashtra with the support of the Gates Foundation. This year's central theme is 'Catalyzing Innovation,' which tasked participants with determining what steps the state government can take to achieve the status of an innovation hub by 2035.
The proposed solutions are based on the state's existing initiatives, including the Maharashtra Startup, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Policy for 2025, the ₹500 crore 'Chief Minister MahaFund,' and the 'Maharashtra Innovation City' project. Teams were asked to delve deeper into solution development, focusing particularly on deep technologies. Their proposals had to cover one of six areas: agriculture, healthcare, education, governance, financial inclusion, and urban development.
The TGC is held annually in 30 business and public educational institutions. Previously, the contests collaborated with the governments of Haryana, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh. The initial stage, the Campus Round, took place in August 2026 and attracted the highest number of participants in TGC history: 4429 teams and 13287 students from 30 institutions.
After evaluation, each institution selected one Campus Round winner to participate in the National Round. On September 11th and 12th, 30 Campus Round winners virtually presented their work to a jury composed of a senior civil servant and an expert in the respective field for each of the six domains. The jury advanced six teams to the final, and these same 12 jury members mentored the finalists, helping them refine their proposals before today's presentations.
The teams presenting today represent institutions such as Indian School of Business, BITS School of Management, SJMSOM at IIT Bombay, Masters' Union, IIM Mumbai, and IIM Ranchi. They are presenting their ideas to Chief Minister Fadnavis, as well as Rajesh Aggarwal, the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, and Dipak Karanjikar, a member of the Governing Board of the Maharashtra Transformation Institute.
The top three teams will receive a prize fund of ₹9 lakh, along with certificates and opportunities for individual job interviews with Samagra. TGC provides students with a rare opportunity to see the political decision-making process from the inside, and the state receives a stream of fresh, vetted ideas from officials who will implement them. Since the MahaFund and the Innovation City are already underway, today's presentations occur at a critical moment in shaping Maharashtra's innovation agenda.
The contest is organized by Samagra, a management consulting firm that works exclusively with governments. It collaborates with high-ranking political and bureaucratic leaders at the state and national levels to drive systemic reforms, utilizing technology and data to improve service delivery in education, agriculture, skill development, employment, healthcare, and public services.