MoHUA, SIIC IIT Kanpur launch joint initiative for garbage-free cities

The initiative aims to provide incubation support to 20 finalist startups from the pool of top 30 finalists under the Swachha Startup Challenge.

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), the technology business incubation centre at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, participated in the Swachhata Startup Conclave organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) at the Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.  

The event started with an inaugural address, followed by a panel discussion - ‘Manthan’, a felicitation ceremony of the 10 startups under the Swachhta Startup Challenge, and concluded with an official announcement of a new initiative in collaboration with SIIC and MoHUA. 

Nikhil Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, FIRST (Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology), spoke about SIIC’s contribution to India’s startup ecosystem and its significant impact on critical infrastructural gaps. He said, “SIIC has implemented critical projects of national importance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of our startups focus on deriving value out of waste. I genuinely thank the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for organising this event and addressing the importance of sustainable development for new-age technology. I look forward to partnering with MoHUA to set up a knowledge hub and promote more innovations in the domain.” 

Ankush Sharma, professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, moderated ‘Manthan’- a panel discussion with distinguished panellists discussing policy framework to promote startups working on garbage-free cities and sustainable technology solutions.  

Top 10 startups felicitated 

Top 10 startups under the Swachha Startup Challenge were also awarded on the occasion.  Jalsevak - a SIIC-incubated startup, was among the 10 finalists that were felicitated for their innovative solutions for catalysing the momentum of the waste management ecosystem in India. 

The event ended with an official announcement of the joint initiative ‘Startup Gateway for Garbage Free Cities’ between MoHUA and SIIC. The initiative aims to provide incubation support to 20 finalist startups from the pool of top 30 finalists under the Swachha Startup Challenge.  

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