Startup revolution in northeast India seems to have begun and Assam is likely to lead the torch of “Start-up India Stand-up India” initiative once set by PM Modi in 2016. Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has signed an MoU with IIT Guwahati (IIT-G) for incubation of Startups under its Startup funding initiative ‘ideation’.
NRL inks MoU with IIT Guwahati for incubation and mentoring of #Startups to be funded under @NRLideation. This will provide impetus, infrastructure, and guidance for taking forward India ambitious #StartupIndia Mission.@PMOIndia @PetroleumMin @startupindia. With this partnership, NRL will facilitate incubation facility and mentoring to the Startups sponsored and selected by NRL through iDEATION at the established Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) of IIT-Guwahati.
Notably, it was in 2016 when the IIT-G had decided to throw open its state-of-the-art incubation center to students from other educational institutions in the region. The development comes within a month after Assam’s Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had inaugurated a state-owned incubator initiative called ‘Assam Startup The Nest‘in Guwahati, which will facilitate the growth of at least 1,000 startups over the next five years.
iDEATION was launched by NRL in July 2017 for nurturing and boosting a startup ecosystem in the North East and had also launched an initial fund of Rs 100 million as a grant for startup ventures in the region. The first edition of the initiative saw funding to the tune of Rs. 12.9 million were allotted to four selected startup projects as seed funding and scale-up funding.
The 2nd edition launched in February 2018, too, garnered a huge response from the intrepid entrepreneurs of the northeast. Numaligarh Refinery is located at Morangi, Golaghat district, Assam in India is a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum, Oil India and Government of Assam.
