India Launches National Startup Awards 2020

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, has announced the institution of the first ever National Startup Awards 2020. These awards seek to recognize and reward outstanding startups, incubators, and accelerators.

The National Startup Awards seek to recognize and reward outstanding startups and ecosystem enablers that are building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises, with high potential of employment generation or wealth creation, demonstrating measurable social impact.

The measure of success will not only be the financial gains for the investors but also the contribution to the social good. The awards for startups shall be granted in 35 areas, classified into 12 broad sectors such as agriculture, education, enterprise technology, energy, finance, food, health, Industry 4.0, space, security, tourism, and urban services.

A cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each shall be awarded to one winning startup in each area. The winner and 4 runners-up shall also be given opportunities to present their solutions to relevant public authorities and corporates for potential pilot projects and work orders. All winners and runners-up will also be given priority for participation in various national and international startup events.

There are awards for exceptional incubators and accelerators as well. A cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh each shall be awarded to one winning incubator and one winning accelerator. The applications for the awards are open until 31st December 2019.