With over 36,000 startups recognized under the Startup India initiative, India is now the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. Presently, the country has more than 21 unicorns with a combined valuation of more than USD$100 billion. To encourage and reward the startups who are doing exceptionally well in their respective domains, the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organized the National Startup Awards 2020 and announced the winners in October ’20.
This awards program recognises the businesses that have come up with innovative solutions, created jobs and made a positive impact on society.
Here are some of the startups that won the National Startup Awards in 2020, arranged by sector (complete list):
Agriculture
Mandya Organic Foods Pvt. Ltd.
Mandya helps farmers adopt organic farming. The startup does this by purchasing farmers’ organic produce and selling it in supermarkets. A total of 12,000 farmer families are connected with Mandya in their mission.
Intello Labs
Intello Labs has digitized food quality assessments across fresh produce supply chains, allowing people to buy fresh food. The startup also helps the stores pinpoint the old stock. Intello Labs also won the Innovative AI Startup Award by Nasscom & Mphasis in 2019.
Education
RobotGuru Education Technologies
RobotGuru’s mission is to teach robotics in an integrated manner by combining hardware and software using Holosuit and Virtual Reality (VR). It allows 360-degree viewing angles in VR that is a valuable insight for all kinds of learning.
GovJobAdda
GovJobAdda is a platform where government job aspirants can read about current affairs and attempt mock tests to prepare for their exams. GovJobAdda has helped more than 4.8 lakh students, primarily in Tier-II towns and villages, to prepare for Government job exams.
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Energy
Aloe E-Cell
Aloe E-Cell has created the world’s first 100% eco-friendly and non-hazardous 1.5V AA size battery.
The batteries are 10% cheaper and 1.5 times more durable than regular batteries.
The developed product has the potential to save the Indian economy US$ 109 billion every year on dry cell raw materials.
Enterprise Technology
Unnati Online
Unnati is an automated, voice-enabled digital assistant that aids informal sector workers in finding job opportunities. Over the past two years, Unnati has provided more than 10 lakh job opportunities to over 1.5 crore workers across India.
Fintech
BharatPe
BharatPe empowers merchants and shop owners to accept payments through a single QR code from all payment apps including PayTm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, and 150+ other UPI apps.
Food
FoodCloud
Food Cloud is an online marketplace for homemade food, with verified home chefs in Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Presently, Food Cloud has around 3,500 registered chefs and has successfully delivered over 5 lakh meals so far.
Health
Niramai Health Analytix
Niramai has developed an accurate, affordable solution for detecting early-stage breast cancer using artificial intelligence (AI). Niramai has screened over 25,000 women in 12 states and has a 70% female workforce.
Bonayu Lifesciences
Bonayu has developed a patented manufacturing platform for producing a topical film that is an alternative to traditional ointments, creams, and gels.
Industry 4.0
UptimeAI Tech
The startup has developed a software platform that enables plant engineers to predict equipment and performance issues in advance. Their cloud-based architecture continuously receives data from several sensors to detect and report any issue.
Fabheads Automation
Fabheads manufactures 3D printers that use carbon fiber raw material, allowing them to print parts that are both strong as well as light in weight.
Fabheads Automation is Asia’s first and only company that has developed this innovative 3D printer.
Security
Staqu Technologies
Staqu has developed a unique technological approach using Deep Neural Networks to process real-world crime and criminal data.
Lucideus Tech
Lucideus Tech is India’s highest-valued cybersecurity startup. Their product SAFE offers Cyber Risk Quantification (CRQ) that helps in making cybersecurity more objective and easy to understand.
Space
Skyroot Aerospace
Skyroot Aerospace has a series of launch vehicles that are cost-effective and can carry a wide range of payload capacity.
Dhruva Space
Dhruva Space builds small satellite constellations for earth observation and scientific application. They are also developing satellites with de-orbiting functionality.
Bellatrix Aerospace
Bellatrix has developed a fully-reusable micro launch vehicle named Chetak. Bellatrix’s green propellant offers around 30% higher performance than traditional fuels.
Tourism
Freshrooms (Feeinsta Consulting & Services)
Freshrooms has created an e-toilet with various smart features like an automatic toilet seat with a human body sensor, inbuilt night light, touch-free and waterless disposal.
Urban Services
Bounce (Wickedride Adventure Services)
Bounce offers bike rental services and has a fleet of around 19,000 scooters with a presence in 35 cities. Bounce supports more than 1.2 lakh rides per day.
Taraltec Solutions
Taraltec aims to provide clean drinking water to people mostly in rural areas by removing 99% microbial contamination from the borewell water.
Related: Innovating to reduce water scarcity in India
About the startup competition
The awards were organized to recognize exceptional startups that are:
- Providing innovative solutions to solve real challenges of people in India
- Developing and delivering an innovative technological solution to the entire world
- Starting businesses that are sustainable and socially responsible
- Delivering measurable development gains
A total of 1641 applications were received from startups across 12 different sectors, 31 applications from incubators, and 10 applications from accelerators.
Winners of the startup competition received monetary prizes of Rs. 5 lakhs each and opportunities to present their products/solutions to government departments & relevant corporates for potential assignments.
Winners in the category of incubators and accelerators received Rs. 15 lakh each. The recognized winners will also benefit from the increased business, investment, talent, and partnerships that will result from news of the award.
Five years of startup growth
The Government of India announced Startup India on August 15, 2015. The initiative’s primary goal is to build a strong support system for startups to drive economic growth and employment opportunities. Since then, the Startup India program has come a long way, and currently, 30 states and UTs now have state-level startup policies.
Take inspiration from these startup award winners
There is tremendous potential in the Indian startup ecosystem. However, most of the entrepreneurs, primarily in the rural or tier-II cities, don’t get access to the right platform to showcase their products.
Awards and startup competitions like the National Startups Awards 2020 are the best medium to empower such startups and provide them the appropriate launchpad for future growth.
Entries for the 2021 Startup Awards closed on 31 January 2021 — but make a note on your calendar now to enter your startup in the 2022 competition!
