Union minister Piyush Goyal announced the results of National Startup Awards 2020 on October 6.

National Startup Awards 2020

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) invited applications for the first ever National Startup Awards in November 2019.

The awards recognise exceptional startups across various categories that are:

• Providing innovative solutions to solve real problems and challenges for India.

• Developing innovative technologies, products and solutions from India to the world.

• Building businesses that are scalable, sustainable and responsible.

• Delivering measurable developmental gains.

It also rewards exceptional incubators and accelerators as key building blocks of a robust startup ecosystem.

The awards are given in 35 areas, classified into 12 broad sectors like agriculture, education, enterprise technology, energy, finance, food, health, industry 4.0, space, security, tourism, and urban services. In addition, there are three special awards for startups from educational institutions, making an impact in rural areas and women entrepreneurs.

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

A cash prize of Rs 15 lakh each will is awarded to one incubator and accelerator as well.

A total of 1,641 applications were received. These applications include 654 women-led startups, 165 academic institution based startups and 331 startups working in rural areas.

All applicants were evaluated against six broad parameters — innovation, scalability, economic impact, social impact, environmental impact and inclusiveness & diversity. 

After three rounds of detailed evaluation, 199 startups were selected for presentation before the jury. 192 out of these made presentations before the jury panels, which consisted of experts from industry, investors and government.

Startup India Showcase

During the event the minister also launched the ‘Startup India Showcase’ and ‘Blockchain-based Certificate Verification System’.

The ‘Startup India Showcase’, a part of the Startup India portal, is intended to be an online discovery platform for the most promising startups of the country. The startups showcased here shall be handpicked by experts and will span across different sectors like fintech, edtech, social impact among others. The showcase will help industry, investors and public authorities find and connect with startups for potential partnerships, investments and public procurement respectively. This showcase will help the ecosystem connect with them better while also serving as an inspiration.

The ‘Blockchain-based Certificate Verification System’ will enable instant verification and access to certificates of recognitions issued by DPIIT. This feature introduces an added layer of security to the startup certificates. It can be accessed by government departments, procurement entities, investors, and other third parties to verify status of recognized startups for accessing different opportunities.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was established in 1995 under the ministry of commerce and industry. It was reconstituted in 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development. In 2018, matters related to e-commerce were transferred to the Department. In 2019, the Department was also given charge for matters related to internal trade, welfare of traders and their employees and startups.

It was then renamed as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). 

Functions of DPIIT:

*Formulation and implementation of industrial policy and strategies for industrial development in conformity with the development needs and national objectives.

*Monitoring the industrial growth, in general, and performance of industries specifically assigned to it, in particular, including advice on all industrial and technical matters.

*Formulation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and promotion, approval and facilitation of FDI.

*Encouragement to foreign technology collaborations at enterprise level and formulating policy parameters for the same.

*Formulation of policies relating to Intellectual Property Rights in the fields of patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications of goods and administration of regulations, rules made there under.

*Administration of Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951.

* Promoting industrial development of industrially backward areas and the northeast region.

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