Odisha plans to host innovation festival to scout grassroots innovation

The Odisha government has set a target to create 1000 startups by 2020 and is eyeing a spot among the top three destinations in the country

Odisha plans to organise an innovation festival to scout for grassroots-level innovation at schools, colleges, polytechnics and industrial training institutes.

"The Festival of Innovation is now organised at the President’s secretariat sometime between January and February. This will be organized for the first time in Odisha in the country”, said LN Gupta, additional chief secretary (MSME), Odisha government.

The National Innovation Foundation (NIF), India has been organising an exhibition of grassroots innovation every year since 2010, in collaboration with the Honey Bee Network institutions, volunteers and the Department of Science and Technology at the President's House. The Festival of Innovation (FOIN) is a unique initiative of the Office of the President of India to recognise, respect and reward grassroots innovations. The festival aims to foster a supportive ecosystem.

"The scouting of innovations will be done through the offline mode. A state-level innovation will also be set up through the online mode. Our idea is to form at least 50 start-up enterprises”, said Gupta. Gupta has also sought the help of stakeholders associated with the innovation and entrepreneurship.

"The festival of innovation is a wonderful opportunity for the young minds. It will be organised for the first time in Odisha in the country. TiE will be giving a wholehearted support for the festival”, said Debasish Patnaik, who took over as the new President of Bhubaneswar TiE Chapter. TiE s a non-profit, global community welcoming entrepreneurs from all over the world.

The Odisha government has set a target to create 1000 startups by 2020 and is eyeing a spot amongst the top three destinations in the country. After formulating a dedicated policy for start-ups with tempting sops, the state government has developed a one of its kind portal for the start-ups.

The portal is a one-stop platform for start-ups, incubators and investors in the state for registration and availing benefits under the start-up policy of the state.