The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is integrating AI and GIS mapping technology into its outdoor advertising operations to improve revenue generation, prevent losses, and ensure better asset management through a new 180-day pilot project.
MCD Embraces Technology for Financial Growth
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has taken an initiative to strengthen its financial position and move towards greater financial self-reliance through the use of modern technology. The Corporation is now preparing to streamline its outdoor advertising operations and enhance revenue through Artificial Intelligence (AI), GIS mapping and digital monitoring.
According to a release, MCD Chairperson of the Standing Committee Satya Sharma said that the Corporation has several avenues for generating revenue, but it is essential to ensure their optimum utilisation. The use of technology in the advertising sector will not only open up new possibilities for increasing income but will also help prevent revenue losses and bring greater transparency to the system. Sharma said that the Corporation’s objective is not merely to explore new sources of revenue, but also to ensure the maximum and better utilisation of its existing resources.
Strategic Planning and Asset Management
She said that Delhi has a large number of hoardings, unipoles, kiosks, street furniture and other outdoor advertising structures. Creating a centralised digital record of these assets will help the Corporation assess their actual status and commercial potential, enabling more effective and scientific management of advertising operations.
She informed that a proposal for a 180-day pilot project has been prepared in collaboration with R3 Interactive Media Solutions Private Limited. Under the project, the private agency will, at its own expense, conduct a survey, geo-tagging and GIS-based mapping of advertising assets across the MCD area. The project will entail no financial expenditure for the Corporation. The proposal has been submitted for the Corporation’s approval through the Standing Committee. Suggestions from the MCD’s Law and Finance Departments have also been incorporated into the draft MoU.
AI-Based Visual Load Index
Sharma said that a key feature of the project is the agency’s AI-based Visual Load Index (VLI) tool. It will analyse the number and visibility of advertisements on roads and public spaces, as well as the visual clutter caused by them. This will help identify locations and advertising corridors with greater commercial potential. At the same time, in areas with excessive advertisements, the tool will suggest ways to rationalise their number and placement. This analysis will assist the Corporation in better planning the auction, valuation and tendering of advertising sites, the release said
She further informed that the agency will conduct a 360-degree virtual survey to record photographs, locations, dimensions, lighting details and regulatory compliance for each advertising site. A digital database of all advertising assets will be created through GIS mapping and geo-tagging. Dashboards, heat maps and analytical reports will help the Corporation monitor and manage these assets more effectively.
Sharma said that matching the digital records with registered advertising sites will make it easier to identify unauthorised advertising structures. This will facilitate action against those violating the rules and help prevent potential revenue losses to the Corporation. She informed that all data collected through the survey under the MoU will remain the property of the MCD. The private agency will not be permitted to share it with any third party without the Corporation’s written permission. The agreement will remain in force for 180 days from the date of signing, and the Corporation will have the right to terminate it by giving 15 days’ notice in case of any violation of its terms.
Sharma said that this pilot project is an important step towards making the Corporation’s advertising system modern, transparent and revenue-oriented. After evaluating the project’s outcomes, the possibility of extending it to other zones and across the entire Municipal Corporation of Delhi area will be considered, she said. (ANI)
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