Verified resident ranking of ward works for city participatory budgets
TL;DR Pollmark lets residents of a ward rank the civic works proposed for their area, with each vote checked against a phone number and ward. Ward committees get a ranked list they can stand behind. Municipal bodies and the civic groups that run budgeting drives pay for it, and the ranking advises but doesn't decide.
Participatory budgeting in India is real but thin. Pune has run it since 2005, suggestions grew from 600 in 2012–13 to 4,645 in 2014–15, and the allocation reached ₹37.5 crore[1]. In a city of several million people, that's still a small slice of residents.
The ranking step is the weak link. For the 2027–28 budget, Pune residents could propose works of up to ₹5 lakh each, and ward committees then prioritised what went forward[2]. Residents watch their idea vanish into a meeting. Officials can't tell whether 40 identical suggestions reflect a whole neighbourhood or one organised group.
What it does, in regulatory terms: an advisory consultation tool. It runs no election, and elected bodies keep every budget decision. Resident data falls under the DPDP Act.
The seed proposed AI-powered micro-voting on civic issues, and I've reframed it. Binding votes belong to elected councils and the State Election Commission, so a private app can't deliver them. What it can deliver is a clean ranking inside a process cities already run.
After proposals close, Pollmark shows each ward's eligible works with cost and location on a map, in the local language. Residents sign in with an OTP, confirm their ward by address and rank up to five works. Ward camps at markets and ration shops let people without smartphones take part through a volunteer. Duplicate devices and sudden bursts from one area get flagged for review. The ward committee receives a ranked list and a turnout report.
Residents take part free. The municipal body pays a per-cycle licence for the city, bought through GeM or a tender[5]. Civic non-profits that already run budgeting drives with cities are a second buyer, often with grant money. There's no public price for this in India. Councillors are not the customer, because that would make the tool look partisan.
Pune still runs its process every year, with an online portal and ward-office forms, and the 2027–28 cycle closed in August 2026[2]. Ward committees now have set spending limits of ₹1–1.25 crore for recommended works[2]. The DPDP Rules notified in November 2025 make consent and retention duties clear for anyone holding residents' addresses[6].
There is no public figure for spending on participatory budgeting tools in India. The best signal is the scale of one live programme - Pune's allocation rose from ₹17.62 crore in 2007–08 to ₹37.5 crore in 2014–15[1]. On the adjacent side, more than 2,900 cities worldwide use participatory budgeting[1]. Few Indian cities run it at all, which is both the risk and the room to grow.
Pune's own portal collects proposals but publishes no resident ranking[2]. One open-source participation platform is used by more than 500 organisations, mostly in Europe[3]. A commercial vendor sells engagement software to governments, including budgeting and voting tools[4]. Neither works in Indian languages at ward level or with offline camps, and that's the gap.
| Difficulty | Moderate (38/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹30–60 L |
| Time to launch | 4–6 months |
The software is simple and open-source options exist. The hard part is selling a tool that shows officials what residents actually want, which not every official is thrilled about. Turnout also needs real ground work, and fraud claims will follow the first contested result.
No sector licence, but you must stay well away from anything that looks like an election.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't let AI rank, drop or reword proposals without a human checking. The process only works if residents trust the list is theirs, and elected members decide the budget.
Want to work out the AI layer for Pollmark? Talk to Yash →
I think this is best for a civic-tech founder with a non-profit partner and the patience to go one city at a time. If you need scale fast then it's a poor fit. Prove first that in ten Pune wards at least 2% of adults rank works and the committee's final list follows the top five in most wards.
Plan for roughly ₹30–60 L, covering the app, ward camps for people without smartphones and a slow city-by-city rollout.
No sector licence. Keep rankings advisory under the city agreement, never present them as an election, and follow the DPDP Act for residents' data.
Yes, cities abroad already use open-source and commercial participation tools for this[3][4]. Check local rules on public consultation and data protection.
The free Pollmark validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the data-protection and procurement checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for officials and residents, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Pollmark or something close to it? The make-or-break bit is finding a commissioner who wants residents' rankings on the record, and I can help you figure out who to approach and how. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.