Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will roll out a Grand Kerala Challenge offering innovation grant up to Rs 1 crore to socially relevant innovations from the state. A Global Innovation Challenge in association with the Silicon Valley based Singularity University would be also held in the state in this connection. According to IT department sources, the government has granted nod to a proposal of KSUM in this regard the other day.
In yet another impetus to the startup sector from the state government, it was proposed in the LDF government's IT policy to conduct Global Innovation Challenge annually. Based on this, the KSUM had suggested a tie-up with the Singularity University. The broader criteria for selecting the project for innovation grant will be social relevance of the innovation and how it could improve the life of common man.
"Our plan is to link the proposed Grand Kerala Challenge with the Singularity University's Global Innovation Challenge so that the winner in the Grand Kerala Challenge not only gets grant, but also get an international exposure with support of Singularity University," KSUM chief executive officer Saji Gopinath told DC. KSUM is planning to hold the Global Innovation Challenge by May 2018. A series of ramp up events for the Grand Kerala Challenge would be held ahead of that.
Singularity University, which has been promoting innovations, used to conduct Global Innovation Challenges by partnering with various local agencies. Hence the KSUM had also decided to partner with the university and club the Grand Kerala Challenge proposed by the state government with the Global Innovation Challenge. Such initiatives would only help the innovators from Kerala with international exposure and networks. A national chapter of Singularity University was set up at Kerala Startup Mission a few months back. It is the first chapter of Singularity University in India.
