Calling entrepreneurs and innovators for the 'Innovate for Digital India' Challenge
This article is sponsored by Innovate for Digital India Challenge
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Digital India” campaign on August 21, 2014. This programme aims to change India into an electronically empowered economy. The idea behind it is to facilitate interaction between government departments and Indian citizens through a digital or electronic medium, leading to better governance. This is also a green initiative that will reduce paperwork by moving all documentation to an electronic medium. A totally digital India envisages digital infrastructure as a basic utility to every citizen, governance and services through online forums, and digital empowerment of citizens. India has the third highest number of internet users among the top 20 countries, but has the lowest penetration figures at just 19%.
Obviously the scale of this campaign is colossal and requires a lot of initiatives not just from the government but also from the various industries, big companies, startups and individuals to bring it to fruition. For India to transform into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy with high intellectual capital, a lot of work needs to be done at the grassroots level. This is the objective behind the Innovate for Digital India Challenge by Intel in association with the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
This challenge is open to everybody. Intel and DST is working with IIM Ahmedabad's Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and MyGov.in order to manage the challenge, be it in the process of application management, programme facilitation and popularisation. The winners will get grants which will be jointly worth Rs.1.5 crores and the top three winners will be getting access to a seed fund of Rs.20 lakhs each.
The Innovate for Digital India Challenge aims at fostering a culture of innovation, creating solutions that can take care of indigenous needs and building an empowered ecosystem for permeating technology into the nooks and crannies of the country. Anybody from diverse backgrounds can participate in this challenge, from aspiring and established entrepreneurs to innovators, members of the academia, designers and engineers. Startups cannot survive without a culture of innovation and 360° thinking. So participation in the challenge should not be too challenging! To participate, candidates must log on to http://www.innovatefordigitalindia.intel.in and register their projects at the earliest. The registration closes on June 22nd, 2015.
Participants of Challenge will be mentored by industry leaders and experts from Intel. They will receive training to improve their technical proficiency, given access to product kits and infrastructure and also given several sales opportunities. They will receive networking in the market and access to funds at various phases to allow them to introduce their solutions to the public.
"Innovation is part of Intel's DNA," said Debjani Ghosh, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group, Managing Director, South Asia while calling upon the nation for 'Innovate for Digital India' entries. "This challenge combines Intel's history of creating innovative technology with the government's Digital India vision, complemented by entrepreneurial talent to create a sustainable technology ecosystem. Through this challenge, we aim to encourage people to come forward and participate and create solutions that will help make Digital India a reality."
Mr. Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, MyGov, said,
The MyGov platform is designed to link government and citizens. We are proud to support this challenge by connecting the government with entrepreneurs and innovators to come forward with solutions made in India, for India. We encourage all those who have brilliant ideas to come forth and contribute to making the vision of Digital India a reality.
Intel is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world's first commercially available ‘conflict-free’ micro-processors. The Innovate for Digital India Challenge is a logical extension of Intel’s Mission which is to bring smart, connected devices to every person on earth.
We can transform our nation and erase the skewed nature of available opportunities for citizens, all by harnessing digital technology. If every citizen is empowered, the vision of a 100% digital India can become a reality.
We invite you to send in Entries for the ‘Innovate for Digital India' Challenge. Change your life while changing your nation!