USD 2 mn investment earmarked under India Innovation Growth Programme

An investment of USD 2 million in social and industrial innovations has been announced on Tuesday under the India Innovation Growth Programme 2.0.

The programme has been established by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Tata Trusts.

The 2019 edition of the programme, launched in Guwahati on Tuesday, is aimed at accelerating indigenous innovations through incubation of affordable, accessible and acceptable solutions.

Commenting on the programme, Anita Gupta, adviser and associate programme head of innovation, entrepreneurship, Department of Science and Technology, said with the government's commitment towards building a young start-up nation, India is rightly poised to drive the next entrepreneurship wave.

"To ensure success, a conducive ecosystem is needed that not only nurtures creativity and innovation but also provides market opportunities to the new genre of entrepreneurs," she said in a statement.

She further said it is "one-of-its-kind collaborative initiative in the country that provides the much-needed hand-holding, business development and funding support to budding start-ups".

Tata Trusts Head (Entrepreneurship and Innovations) Manoj Kumar said initiatives like IIGP open up multiple opportunities for entrepreneurs to translate their innovations into high-impact solutions.

The programme offers an opportunity for innovators across India to bring breakthrough ideas to the market in areas such as technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, healthcare, water, energy and life sciences.