On Friday, Ministry of Railways has released an innovation policy, according to which Indian Railways will invest in startups, individual innovators and R&D institutions in order to co-develop innovative products and solutions with startups & entrepreneurs, that address issues of Indian Railways while promoting Innovation Culture in the country for co-creation and co-innovation in the railway sector.
On funding the eligible startups, the policy document says - "Considering the major constraint of capital inadequacy in Startup ecosystem, primarily in the seed and “Proof of Concept” developmental stage, this policy aims at providing necessary seed fund support, of up to Rs. 1.5 Cr (on matching contribution basis), to the Startups showing capability, intent and promise to produce functional prototypes, based on new innovative concepts, for potential use on Indian Railways."
This policy document lays down a broad framework for engagement of Ministry of Railways with Innovators for development of technology, products and need based solutions for Indian Railways.
Under this policy, funding scheme for startups/innovators will be on cost sharing basis in equal proportion i.e. 50:50 by Indian Railways and Innovator. Maximum amount of grant of up to Rs. 1.5 Crore can be given per innovator.
"Even for cases where the total cost of project exceeds Rs 3.0 Cr, the funding from Indian Railways shall be limited to a maximum of Rs. 1.5 Cr only. The exact quantum of grant and installments for each Innovator shall be decided by the PEC ((Proposal Evaluation Committee), based on its evaluation," mentions the policy.
Complete process, from initiation to completion, will be dealt online through a dedicated Indian Railway Innovation Portal. The innovators can apply through a dedicated Innovation Portal, which is likely to be functional by the end of this month, and once chosen for the grant, its disbursement shall be linked to pre-decided milestones (proposed stages during project execution). The project execution stages should be divided in a minimum of 4 (Four) milestones and maximum amount of disbursement at any milestone shall not exceed Rs. 25 lacs.
Under this policy, the ownership of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) generated under the project shall be owned exclusively by the Innovator. However, it can be extended to include any associates as joint owners only after obtaining prior approval from Railway Board (E&R Directorate).
To recall, Indian Railways has earlier explored the feasibility of retrofitting the trains (that presently run on diesel) with hydrogen fuel and for same it invited bids for "hydrogen fuel cell-based technology" for retrofitting the existing Diesel units, in November last year.
Collaboration/co-development of govt.-owned units and private firms and startups is gaining momentum of-late. While Indian space agency ISRO has already working with private companies and startups for various space activities. Indian Oil Corporation, (IOC) has recently signed a binding term sheet with two private firms -- Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and ReNew Power (ReNew) -- to set up a Joint Venture (JV) company that will develop the green hydrogen sector in India.
Complete process, from initiation to completion, will be dealt online through a dedicated Indian Railway Innovation Portal. The innovators can apply through a dedicated Innovation Portal, which is likely to be functional by the end of this month, and once chosen for the grant, its disbursement shall be linked to pre-decided milestones (proposed stages during project execution). The project execution stages should be divided in a minimum of 4 (Four) milestones and maximum amount of disbursement at any milestone shall not exceed Rs. 25 lacs.
Under this policy, the ownership of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) generated under the project shall be owned exclusively by the Innovator. However, it can be extended to include any associates as joint owners only after obtaining prior approval from Railway Board (E&R Directorate).
To recall, Indian Railways has earlier explored the feasibility of retrofitting the trains (that presently run on diesel) with hydrogen fuel and for same it invited bids for "hydrogen fuel cell-based technology" for retrofitting the existing Diesel units, in November last year.
Collaboration/co-development of govt.-owned units and private firms and startups is gaining momentum of-late. While Indian space agency ISRO has already working with private companies and startups for various space activities. Indian Oil Corporation, (IOC) has recently signed a binding term sheet with two private firms -- Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and ReNew Power (ReNew) -- to set up a Joint Venture (JV) company that will develop the green hydrogen sector in India.
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