The Internet Society Foundation Announces New Research Grants Exploring Future of the Internet

The Internet Society Foundation today announced a new grant programme supporting research on the future and sustainability of the Internet. Open to independent researchers and research institutions around the world, grants of up to US$200,000 will be awarded for research lasting up to two years and focused on: Greening the Internet and/or The Internet Economy. Future thematic areas to be launched in 2021 include The Digital Divide and A Trustworthy Internet.

“Academic research plays an important role in ensuring the Internet’s sustainability, by deepening our understanding of the Internet’s benefits and risks, and its overall value to society,” said Sarah Armstrong, Executive Director of the Internet Society Foundation. “Through these grants, we hope to identify and support a diverse group of researchers whose work will generate novel solutions to Internet-related challenges.”

The programme will begin accepting statements of interests on September 1. Full proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis thereafter. These grants are intended for applied and open research that will be published and made available to the scientific community at no cost. Underrepresented groups in the research world are highly encouraged to apply.

See the grant details and application process.

About the Internet Society Foundation:

The Internet Society Foundation was established in 2019 to support the positive difference the Internet can make to people everywhere. In partnership with other change makers, the Foundation promotes the development of the Internet as a resource to enrich people's lives, and as a force for good in society. Focusing in six programme areas, the Foundation awards grants to Internet Society Chapters as well as non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to providing meaningful access to an open, globally-connected, secure and trustworthy Internet for everyone.

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SocialPilot Grants Rs 1 Crore to Small Businesses amid Covid-19 Outbreak

SocialPilot offered grants worth Rs.1 crore to over 1,400 small and medium businesses since March 2020

Small businesses are financially more fragile than larger companies in times of crisis. The Covid-19 outbreak has hardly spared any business, with small companies being affected the most. Additionally, reverse migration of employees has added more miseries to such businesses.

To address the issues faced by small businesses, several companies have come forward to help these small businesses increase their productivity and skills by offering free tools, services, and products. 

However, it is not just large corporations that have tapped their cash coffers; there are a few smaller companies as well that have stepped up to help other small businesses during these testing times. SocialPilot is one such company that decided to help out. 

SocialPilot offered grants cumulating to around Rs.1 crore to over 1,400 small and medium businesses since March 2020 to help companies market and sell their products and services online since the offline economy came to a sudden halt.

SocialPilot is a social media marketing product that has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies in India. Although investment in social media tools amid the COVID-19 outbreak is a challenging task for small businesses, SocialPilot made this possible by offering grants to all qualifying small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, bloggers, and aspiring individuals. After this offer, businesses have changed their perspective on e-commerce and social media marketing, explains Jimit Bagadiya, co-founder and CEO at SocialPilot. 

Sharing his thoughts, Tejas Mehta, co-founder at SocialPilot said, “Traditional businesses who did not have a presence online realized that they need to do something online. We encouraged people who were not active online to take the first steps in leveraging social media as a marketing channel, and hence they were able to get traction to their online stores.” He further adds,” Businesses don’t grow in isolation and we believe in mutual growth. This has been our core belief since our inception.”

India’s SaaS revenue has reached $3.5 billion as of FY 2020, growing at 30% CAGR, with 75% of it coming from global sales, according to a report by The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). North America is the largest SaaS market accounting for almost 60% of the SaaS spend. India, as a market, has been growing at unprecedented rates as the younger generation takes the digital-first approach in the traditional as well as modern businesses. 

SocialPilot is a social media management tool that helps small businesses and agencies manage social media publishing, analytics, social media calendar, and engagement. SocialPilot was the first publishing platform to add TikTok and Facebook Boosted Posts as a part of the publishing platform. SocialPilot has been consistently ranked as a segment leader by Gartner, Capterra, G2, GetApp, and others. 

The company was bootstrapped by Jimit Bagadiya and Tejas Mehta in 2014 to increase the efficiency in social media marketing. In addition to Ahmedabad, SocialPilot has a presence in California, New York, and Kentucky. The company caters to over 150,000 users (5,000 customers) across the globe. SocialPilot’s niche has been in Social Media Analytics, Social Media Scheduling, and Marketing, Social Inbox, Bulk Scheduling, Client Management, and Social Media Calendar. 

India-US Endowment Fund Invites Proposals from Bi-National Teams of Entrepreneurs for Grant Upto $500K

The United States-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) is inviting proposals have been sought from Bi-national Indo-US teams of entrepreneurs with innovative products for commercializing technologies for Societal Impact.

Established in 2009, USISTEF is a joint fund established between the United States and India for the purpose of promoting innovation through science and technology. It is governed by a board representing both India and the United States and provides grants of up to $500,000 (~ Rs 2.50 crore) for joint projects between the U.S. and India.

USISTEF inviting Bi-national teams can include -- incorporated companies including start-ups or non-incorporated entities or Individuals or consortia from academia, government laboratories, non-government R&D institutions.

Under this programme, Bi-national Indo-US teams of entrepreneurs and innovators with innovative product or technology, beyond the idea stage and with high societal impact will be funded. The applicants must make a credible case that the proposed technology can enter the market within 2-3 years. The priority areas identified include development of affordable bio-medical devices, food nutritional products etc.

Proposals must include a minimum of one partner from India and the US each. Bi-national teams applying to the Endowment Fund will work together to commercialize technologies for societal impact.

Interested entrepreneurs and team can apply here and even find his/her bi-national partner here. The deadline for Proposal Submission is June 15, 2018.

In May 2012, then United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Indian Minister of Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh awarded the first grantee of the fund. The first grantees of USISTEF included a partnership between both countries to develop a cold chain storage for produce, a procedure for metabolic screening of newborns, and a shoe specifically built to assist patients with Parkinson's disease.

It may be recalled that few days back, Niti Aayog, a policy think tank of the Government of India, is also seeking applications for Atal New India Challenge under which it will provide grants of upto Rs 1 crore will be given.

Speaking about grants for startups and entrepreneur, last month Karnataka government announced a new entrepreneurship scheme, under which Rs 30,000 per month would be provided to any entrepreneur for a year while they incubate their idea with Karnataka's startup cell.

India-US Endowment Fund Invites Proposals from Bi-National Teams of Entrepreneurs for Grant Upto $500K

The United States-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) is inviting proposals have been sought from Bi-national Indo-US teams of entrepreneurs with innovative products for commercializing technologies for Societal Impact.

Established in 2009, USISTEF is a joint fund established between the United States and India for the purpose of promoting innovation through science and technology. It is governed by a board representing both India and the United States and provides grants of up to $500,000 (~ Rs 2.50 crore) for joint projects between the U.S. and India.

USISTEF inviting Bi-national teams can include -- incorporated companies including start-ups or non-incorporated entities or Individuals or consortia from academia, government laboratories, non-government R&D institutions.

Under this programme, Bi-national Indo-US teams of entrepreneurs and innovators with innovative product or technology, beyond the idea stage and with high societal impact will be funded. The applicants must make a credible case that the proposed technology can enter the market within 2-3 years. The priority areas identified include development of affordable bio-medical devices, food nutritional products etc.

Proposals must include a minimum of one partner from India and the US each. Bi-national teams applying to the Endowment Fund will work together to commercialize technologies for societal impact.

Interested entrepreneurs and team can apply here and even find his/her bi-national partner here. The deadline for Proposal Submission is June 15, 2018.

In May 2012, then United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Indian Minister of Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh awarded the first grantee of the fund. The first grantees of USISTEF included a partnership between both countries to develop a cold chain storage for produce, a procedure for metabolic screening of newborns, and a shoe specifically built to assist patients with Parkinson's disease.

It may be recalled that few days back, Niti Aayog, a policy think tank of the Government of India, is also seeking applications for Atal New India Challenge under which it will provide grants of upto Rs 1 crore will be given.

Speaking about grants for startups and entrepreneur, last month Karnataka government announced a new entrepreneurship scheme, under which Rs 30,000 per month would be provided to any entrepreneur for a year while they incubate their idea with Karnataka's startup cell.

NITI Aayog To Open Application for ₹1 Crore Grant, Mentorship to Startups, MSMEs

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) or Niti Aayog, a policy think tank of the Government of India, will soon seek applications for Atal New India Challenge under which it will provide grants of upto Rs 1 crore will be given.

Speaking elaborately, for Atal New India Challenge Niti Aayog will soon open applications from prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies or prototypes across 17 identified focus areas. Under the challenge, grants of upto Rs 1 crore will be given along with mentorship to the winning ideas.

“Under the Atal New India Challenge, which shall be run in collaboration with five ministries, AIM will invite prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies or prototypes across 17 identified focus areas such as Climate Smart Agriculture, Smart Mobility, Predictive Maintenance of Rolling Stock, Waste Management etc,” the Aaoyog said in a release.

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under the NITI Aayog is launching the Atal New India Challenge tomorrow on April 26, 2018.

Applicants showing capability, intent and potential to productize technologies will be awarded grants up to Rs. One crore. This grant will be further supplemented by mentoring, handholding, incubating and other support as needed at various stages of commercialisation, while generating wider deployment for the product.

The event will see presence of Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Housing and Urban Affairs, SS Ahluwalia, Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Ramanathan Ramanan, Mission Director, AIM.

The above news was first reported in Business Standard.

To know more about on how to submit application for Atal New India Challenge, Apply Here. The last date of application is 10th June 2018.

Speaking about grants for startups and entrepreneur, last month Karnataka government announced a new entrepreneurship scheme, under which Rs 30,000 per month would be provided to any entrepreneur for a year while they incubate their idea with Karnataka's startup cell.

To recall, in February last year, Niti Aayog gave Rs.10 crore each to two Bangalore-based incubators -- the bioincubator at the Centre for Cellular And Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), and the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).

To recall, few days back Niti Aayog has also signed a non-binding agreement with New York-based blockchain startup Consensys, which is founded by Joseph Lubin, who is the co-founder of the Ethereum.

NITI Aayog To Open Application for ₹1 Crore Grant, Mentorship to Startups, MSMEs

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) or Niti Aayog, a policy think tank of the Government of India, will soon seek applications for Atal New India Challenge under which it will provide grants of upto Rs 1 crore will be given.

Speaking elaborately, for Atal New India Challenge Niti Aayog will soon open applications from prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies or prototypes across 17 identified focus areas. Under the challenge, grants of upto Rs 1 crore will be given along with mentorship to the winning ideas.

“Under the Atal New India Challenge, which shall be run in collaboration with five ministries, AIM will invite prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies or prototypes across 17 identified focus areas such as Climate Smart Agriculture, Smart Mobility, Predictive Maintenance of Rolling Stock, Waste Management etc,” the Aaoyog said in a release.

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under the NITI Aayog is launching the Atal New India Challenge tomorrow on April 26, 2018.

Applicants showing capability, intent and potential to productize technologies will be awarded grants up to Rs. One crore. This grant will be further supplemented by mentoring, handholding, incubating and other support as needed at various stages of commercialisation, while generating wider deployment for the product.

The event will see presence of Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Housing and Urban Affairs, SS Ahluwalia, Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Ramanathan Ramanan, Mission Director, AIM.

The above news was first reported in Business Standard.

To know more about on how to submit application for Atal New India Challenge, Apply Here. The last date of application is 10th June 2018.

Speaking about grants for startups and entrepreneur, last month Karnataka government announced a new entrepreneurship scheme, under which Rs 30,000 per month would be provided to any entrepreneur for a year while they incubate their idea with Karnataka's startup cell.

To recall, in February last year, Niti Aayog gave Rs.10 crore each to two Bangalore-based incubators -- the bioincubator at the Centre for Cellular And Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), and the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).

To recall, few days back Niti Aayog has also signed a non-binding agreement with New York-based blockchain startup Consensys, which is founded by Joseph Lubin, who is the co-founder of the Ethereum.