Intel, DST tie up to promote tech

Chip manufacturer Intel and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), are partnering to tackle the challenge of language and literacy as a barrier to people using technology.

They have announced a competition ‘Innovate for Digital India Challenge’, with a prize money of ₹1.5 crore for solutions to help ordinary citizens benefit from technology.

The contest is open to innovators, aspiring entrepreneurs, product-designers, students and start-ups alike. The Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and IIM Ahmedabad will help the company with the management of the challenge.

Kishore Balaji, Country Manager – Corporate Affairs, Intel South Asia, said the concentration is on core sectors – education, healthcare, agri-services and financial inclusion, but the primary focus would be on “education and governance”.

The innovations that are in line with easing the issues regarding language, literacy and incorporates biometric sensing capabilities, gesture recognition, multi-lingual and voice support and e-governance services are encouraged.

While talking about the selection criteria, Balaji said that since the competition is about making an idea into a product, priority would be given to technical viability. Other factors would be commercial and market feasibility and policies. He added that IIM-A is developing a detailed rubric for the same.

For the 10-month-long competition that begins in July, Balaji said ideas are crowd-sourced. Twenty teams selected are offered Intel technology support in Bengaluru and Pune. Additionally, they are provided a financial assistance of about ₹2 lakh each.

Deeper mentoring is provided to the top 10 teams with the financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each. Top three teams are selected post testing and are provided with seed funding of about ₹20 lakh each.

By giving the seed money and equity, CIIE creates a platform for people to come up with viable products that aid in realising ‘Digital India’, Balaji added.

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