NavIC Grand Challenge launched by DPIIT for Indian statups

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), along with ISRO, has launched the NavIC Grand Challenge for Indian startups. The program is open only to relevant stakeholders and industries. It envisions the challenge to leverage NavIC services and give India a kickstart towards mapping and enhanced navigation capabilities.

Startup India is a one-stop platform for all stakeholders, intended to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

What is NavIC stands for:

NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) is the name of the independent stand-alone navigation satellite system of India. This system was earlier known as IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System).

It is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area. which is its primary service area.

What is the purpose of NavIC Grand Challenge:

The Minister of Commerce and Industry launched the NavIC Grand Challenge at National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) meeting. NavIC Grand Challenge is aimed at promoting the adoption of NavIC as a geo-positioning solution, a key proponent for digital Atma Nirbharta.

The challenge comes with the aim to encourage, promote, and nurture innovation that leverages the NavIC services and other allied indigenous geospatial offerings, and set India on a path toward domestic mapping and navigation capabilities. This would also open up opportunities for Indian startups to exploit potential markets outside India.

The challenge involves the development of indigenous NavIC-enabled drones to capture data on damage caused to farms, processing of the data, and make it available for use for commercial purposes.

ISRO experts will provide technical guidance to the short-listed startups.

Benefits Offered:

• NavIC Grand Challenge is a brilliant platform for startups to showcase their innovation.
• Technical mentorship and handholding will be provided to startups.
• The selected startup can be integrated with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) framework.

Eligibility Criteria:

• The NavIC Grand Challenge would be open to DPIIT-recognized Startups working in the areas indicated in the problem statements.
• All novel approaches will be considered, but the proposed solution must be flexible, easily deployable, affordable, and scalable.

Who can apply for the NavIC Grand Challenge:

Following are the relevant startups who can apply:

• Ideation Stage Startup.
• Validation Stage Startup.
• Early Traction Startup.
• Scaling stage startup

You can also get information about the relevant industries on the official website of startup India.

Deadline of NavIC Grand Challenge:

Applications are now open for the NavIC Grand Challenge. All applications must be submitted by 31st July 2022. Application results will be announced on 30 September 2022.

Application Procedure:

Evaluation of startups to be undertaken once applications are closed. To apply for the Challenge, The applicant is required to access the official webpage of Startup India.

Challenge Grant Worth:

Grant worth is 6.5 crores.

Where can I get more information on the challenge?

For more details, visit www.startupindia.gov.in.