Guwahati, Sep 25 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday expressed confidence that the Northeast can emerge as one of India’s “living laboratories” for technology and problem-solving.
Speaking at the launch of the North East Seva Innovation Challenge (NESFIC) here, Sarma said ‘NESFIC-Ashtalakshmi for Viksit Bharat’ provides a dedicated platform for talent, creativity and problem-solving capabilities of the youth of the Northeast.
“The Northeast can emerge as one of India’s living laboratories for technology and problem-solving. A solution developed for flood management in Assam could potentially find applications in other parts of India, while a low-cost healthcare technology developed for remote communities could serve people far beyond the region,” he said.
NESFIC seeks to create a practical ecosystem in which young innovators can identify real-world challenges, develop solutions and move toward actual implementation.
The initiative is not about innovation merely for the sake of creating something new but about understanding the problems faced by people, government institutions and industries and applying knowledge, creativity and technology to develop practical solutions, he added.
He said young people are at the heart of the NESFIC vision.
A startup does not always begin in a large office or a corporate laboratory. It can begin in a hostel room, a college workshop or an institutional laboratory, he said.
Sarma, therefore, called upon institutes of higher education, including engineering colleges, polytechnics and ITIs across the Northeast, to participate actively in NESFIC.
The chief minister said 50 real-world challenges have been identified under NESFIC – 40 from government departments and 10 from industry organisations — and these emerged from actual problems faced by government departments, industries and citizens.
“Young innovators will have a real problem to solve, an environment in which to test their ideas, support to develop their solutions and, most importantly, a pathway to a real customer,” he said.
Sarma pointed out that one of NESFIC’s key objectives is to create an opportunity for the government to become the first customer of young innovators.
“The government is among the largest buyers of goods and services in the country, but young startups often find it difficult to enter government markets because of conventional procurement requirements relating to turnover, experience and bank guarantees,” he said.
He pointed out that the Health and Family Welfare Department has presented eight challenges, five of which focus on mothers and newborns.
These include early detection of pregnancy-induced hypertension, improving access to obstetric ultrasound in remote areas, better infection control in labour rooms, faster identification and referral of sick newborns, and early detection of congenital deformities.
“If a young engineer, doctor or startup can develop a solution that enables an ASHA worker in a tea garden or a ‘char’ (riverine islet) area to identify a health danger at an early stage, it would represent innovation at its highest level,” he added.
In Guwahati, the Housing and Urban Affairs Department is looking for technology that can automatically detect blocked culverts and help address urban drainage problems, he said.
“NESFIC could become a bridge between Assam’s traditional strengths and the technologies of the future, creating a tangible pathway for innovative solutions to move from concept to implementation,” he said.
Highlighting the NESFIC’s roadmap, the chief minister said 150 startups will be selected at the Northeast Innovation Conclave in Guwahati in late November, with three startups shortlisted for each of the 50 challenges.
Each selected startup will receive idea-stage support under the Assam Startup Policy and will work closely with the respective problem owner using relevant data and testing sites. They will also receive mentoring support from partner institutions.
On the demonstration day in February next year, the best startup for each challenge will receive a minimum viable product (MVP) grant of Rs 20 lakh, while a deep-technology solution will be eligible for a grant of Rs 40 lakh, he added.
(PTI News)
