DIPP to bridge the gap between start-ups and ministries looking for new innovations

A few months ago, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had asked commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman, whose ministry administers the government's Start-up India, Stand up India programme, to help him find a start-up that collects used oil at an industrial scale, so that it can be recycled and put to use again.

This inspired the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to become a matchmaker between several ministries of Indian government and start-ups that work in fields that these ministries seek.

There are several arms of the government that are looking for innovative ideas so that they can find a solution to their unique problems. On the other hand, there are also many start-ups that have found way outs of these problems, but don’t even know if those are required or not, or have no contacts in the government.

"The idea is to act as a facilitator between the two," a government official aware of the matter told ET. "It can aid in solving critical problems of the government," added the person.

Sitharaman has asked DIPP to look seriously into the booming startup ecosystem so that it can find innovative solutions for all the major problems that various government departments are looking solutions to.

The first phase of the concept will be tested during the start-up national fest that is going to be held this August in Hyderabad. In the fest, a contest, called the Grand Challenge, will be held, for which DIPP will ask various ministries to share their problems, and start-ups would be selected on the basis of effective solutions.

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