While addressing the gathering after distributing the National Startup Awards 2022, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that India now thinks like a startup, relentlessly focusing on newer and better ideas and striving to saturate them throughout the country to improve efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, transparency, and integrity of systems and processes. The Minister congratulated all the winners and said that the Award would inspire them further expand their horizons.
Instituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the National Startup Awards recognises and rewards outstanding Startups that provide innovative solutions which lead to large-scale employment and sustainable economic development. In the first edition of the National Startup Awards concluded in October 2020, 36 startups, one incubator, and one accelerator emerged as winners in their respective categories.
The third edition of the National Startup Awards was launched on 1st February 2022. In line with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the National Startup Awards 2022 acknowledged startups and enablers who have been instrumental in revolutionising the development story of India and in demonstrating exceptional capabilities not just in terms of financial gains but also for the measurable impact on society.
The main focuses were diversity, inclusion, and innovation. Compared to the previous editions, the sectors and sub-sectors covered under the National Startup Awards 2022 have been increased to 17 and 50 respectively. This has enhanced the coverage of the startup ecosystem. The current edition saw the addition of two sectors, five sub-sectors, and two special categories. Manufacturing Excellence and Startups from North-East and Hilly States and Union Territories were the two new special categories added to further encourage startups. In this third edition, 41 startups, 2 incubators, and 1 accelerator were recognised as winners in their respective categories. Winners have emerged from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, indicating the spread of the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation across the last mile in the country.
A total of 2,667 applications were received from startups, incubators, and accelerators from 31 states and union territories across India. These applications were screened and evaluated by more than 50 jury members comprising senior Government officials, Venture Capitalists (VCs), startup CEOs, Industry stalwarts, and renowned educationists, among others. The winning startups (per category) will be awarded Rs. 5 lakhs each, and the winning incubator and accelerator will be awarded Rs. 15 lakhs respectively. A ‘National Startup Awards 2022 Report’ was also released during the event. The report provides detailed insight into the support provided to previous National Startup Awards recognised startups and the National Startup Awards 2022 winners.
At the event, the minister also launched the MAARG platform which stands for Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth of startups. This platform is envisioned to facilitate mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across sectors, stages, and functions. The platform currently has more than 600 mentors and over 800 startup. The portal will now allow for live matchmaking of mentors with startups, helping startups access the guidance that will help them grow and increase their impact in India and globally.
Praising PM Modi’s vision of ‘Digital India’, the Minister further said that the government came up with highly impactful innovations like COWIN app, One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC), PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, UPI, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and JAM Trinity.
The call for applications for the National Startup Awards 2023 will be live soon. For details, check https://www.startupindia.gov.in/
