The results of the inaugural National Startup Awards (2020) were recently announced by India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Concurrently, the Startup India Showcase and a Blockchain-based Certificate Verification System were also launched.
About the National Startup Awards
The National Startup Awards are designed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) within the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The objective of these awards is to acknowledge and reward exceptional startups and ecosystem enablers that are establishing innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises. These enterprises should have a high potential for employment generation or wealth creation, alongside demonstrating measurable social impact.
For the first edition of these awards, applications were invited across 12 sectors such as Agriculture, Education, Enterprise Technology, Energy, Finance, Food, Health, Industry 4.0, Space, Security, Tourism, and Urban Services. Moreover, special categories were created for startups that create impact in rural areas, women-led startups, and those founded on academic campuses.
The winning startup founders were rewarded with a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and an opportunity to present their solutions to relevant public authorities and corporations. For incubators and accelerators, the cash prize was Rs. 15 lakh. A total of 38 startups were awarded across the 35 categories and 3 special categories.
Startup India Showcase
As part of the Startup India initiative, which began in 2016, the Startup India Showcase serves as an online platform for exhibiting the most promising startups of India. These startups are meticulously selected by experts and span a variety of sectors such as FinTech, EdTech, and Social Impact among others.
The aim of this showcase is to facilitate connections between industry professionals, investors, and public authorities with potential startups for future partnerships, investments, and public procurement.
Blockchain-based Certificate Verification System
The Blockchain-based Certificate Verification System will allow for instantaneous verification and access to certificates of recognition issued by the DPIIT. This feature adds and extra layer of security to the startup certificates and can be accessed by government departments, procurement entities, investors, and other third parties for verification of recognized startups for accessing different opportunities.
Other Related News
Alongside the announcement of the Startup Awards, the DPIIT also revealed the results of the 2nd edition of the Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystem. Gujarat emerged as the best performing state. Additionally, the Ease of Doing Business Rankings of the States-2019 was released, with Andhra Pradesh securing the top spot.
Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance also submitted a report related to startups in Parliament.
Way Forward
The awards are expected to stimulate enthusiasm among young entrepreneurs to elevate their innovative ideas, propel startups to expand into new territories and serve larger populations. This will not only aid in generating employment but also aligns with the objective of Atmanirbhat Bharat (Self Reliant India).
Source: PIB
