Intel has joined the Central government to launch an initiative to encourage startups
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Hyderabad: Betting big on the Digital India initiative, Intel has joined the Central government to launch an initiative to encourage startups with a total grant of Rs 1.5 crore. The initiative called the “Innovate for Digital India Challenge” is jointly being organised and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) and Intel.
Around 20 ideas would be selected from across the country and will be mentored for 12 weeks at the College of Engineering, Pune under the ageis of Indian Institute of Management, Amhedabad.
The entrepreneurs would be provided with an initial outlay ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 5 lakh for development of prototypes and the top three startups would be given a seed grant of Rs 20 lakh each.
Registrations can be done at www.innovatefor digitalindia.intel.in till June 22. Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the initiative, Intel South Asia (sales and marketing) Debanji Ghosh said, “Less than 20 per cent population of the country has access to data computing. Such an initiative would give boost to innovation bringing the non-urban population into the digital fold.”
India currently ranks at 76 in the Global Innovation Index, down 10 points from last year. J. Satyanarayana, advisor to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on IT issues, said, “For every 10 per cent increase in Broadband penetration, there would be 1.08 per cent growth in the economy. If India’s broadband penetration goes up to 15 per cent from the current 4-5 per cent, we could add lakhs of crores to the country’s GDP.”
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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