North Delhi Municipal Corporation, launched CiTe- Civic Tech Innovation Launchpad in partnership with Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur and Capri Global on 25th February 2021. CiTe is the first-of-its-kind initiative, where the startups & innovators will receive up to INR 25 Lakhs worth innovation fellowship and prototype development support, with a chance to refine those solutions in unison with the leadership and officials of North DMC and SIIC, IIT Kanpur. This initiative is supported by Capri Global under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The call for applications was open from 25th February to 7th March, where any Indian startup & innovator could apply. More than 110 entries were received in the call for applications, after which 45 applications qualified for Round-2 on 13th March. On 21st March, after the evaluation on various parameters, 12 applications were shortlisted, for the final presentation before a jury via video conferencing on 24th March 2021.
The selection panel had Shri Himanshu Gupta, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, North DMC, Ms. Neeta Joshi, Head-CSR, Capri Global, Dr Nikhil Agarwal, CEO, SIIC IIT Kanpur, Shri Jai Shankar Sharma, Mentor & Advisor, SIIC IIT Kanpur, Dr Sanjay Sinha, ADC, North DMC and Mr. Rahul Patel, Head of Strategy & Initiatives, SIIC IIT Kanpur.
After three rounds of the selection process, five projects have been selected as winners across the domains of Sanitation & Hygiene, Water Management and Waste Management. These winners will receive technical and business mentorship at SIIC, IIT Kanpur.
Shri Ashish More, IAS, Additional Commissioner, North DMC chaired the award announcement ceremony held via virtual conferencing today. Congratulating the winners, he shared, “It is a matter of pride for India to see our innovators embark on the journey to aatmanir bharta. Technology has the power to change lives and through this initiative, we are aiming to bring it to the core of civic problem solving. I wish the winners good luck in their journey with North DMC and SIIC”
Ms. Neeta Joshi, Head-CSR, Capri Global applauded the synergy between private and public stakeholders and added, “CiTe is a novel initiative that reinforces the power of collaboration. We believe that this initiative is only the beginning of channeling technology to solve developmental challenges. Capri Global aims to support the winners throughout their journey of change and innovation.”
Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, shared his hopes from the innovators, commenting, “At SIIC, we are creating an army of innovators who are equipped to take on any challenge. We are grateful to North DMC leadership and Capri Global to believe in this initiative and look forward to churning the best of technology to address North DMC’s civic issues.”
About Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur
Start-ups and social enterprises are widely regarded as the key to addressing developmental challenges, especially in emerging economies such as India. With path breaking innovation brewing innovation at incubator start-ups, SIIC IIT Kanpur aims to create impact at the bottom of the pyramid. Established in the year 2000, Start-up Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, is one of the oldest technology business incubators with many successes under its belt. The multifaceted, vibrant incubation ecosystem nurtured a period of 2 decades aims to fill all the gaps on the road to convert an idea into a business. SIIC has developed the experience base and ecosystem that become critical ingredients in developing early-stage, technology-focused start-ups disrupting paradigms across the domains such as agriculture, healthcare, aerospace, energy, water, and education.
Website: https://www.cite.siicincubator.com/
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