The Indian Oil Startup Fund is a startup scheme which has been spearheaded by The Indian Oil Corporation Limited with a view to “support projects which involve innovative technology and business process re-engineering ideas with significant business potential, social relevance, focus on environment-protection” in the domestic and hydrocarbon sector. The startup scheme has a revolving corpus of Rupees Thirty Crore for every round of investment. Moreover, the National Research and Development Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Association with Indian Oil Corporation Limited to provide incubation support to startups. To avail the benefits under the scheme, the applicants are selected through the Indian Oil Open Innovation Challenge. Scroll down to check more information regarding the Indian Oil Startup Fund
Purpose of the Indian Oil Startup Scheme
The purpose of the Indian Oil Startup Scheme[1] is manifold. It majorly aims to support projects which use technology and business process re-engineering to develop projects or processes which are commercially viable, environment friendly and socially relevant and is in tune with the domain of work carried out by the Indian Oil Corporation. It also aims at promoting collective research, developing a thriving startup ecosystem, validating Proof of Concept (PoC) for various technology and business process re-engineering ideas and bringing the quality of intrapreneurship and technological innovation.
It aims to provide financial support to projects which provide innovative and alternative solutions to areas in Indian Oil Corporations’ domain of business, and reduce the ambiguity in existing technology and business processes and operations which minimize waste.
The scheme aims to fund waste-to-energy projects, environment-friendly disposal of insulation materials, LPG cylinder safety aspects and improve innovation in areas of various technology process re-engineering like, inter alia, low-cost desalination of seawater, low-cost production of hydrogen, projects which ensure zero waste from refineries, low-cost vapour recovery system at fuel stations.
Indian Oil Open Innovation Challenge – Indian Oil Startup Fund
The Indian Oil Open Innovation Challenge is managed by the Indian Oil Research and Development Centre, Faridabad. The first round of the Open Innovation Challenge was flagged off by an Expression of Interest, where nine project proposals in Technology Process Re-engineering and six proposals in Business Process Re-engineering were selected.
The challenge aims at finding viable proposals which are ethical, environment-friendly, socially advanced and can be technologically commercialized and converted into implementable goods, services, and technology.
Eligibility to enter the Indian Oil Open Innovation Challenge.
To be eligible to enter the challenge:
- One ought to be a citizen of India or a Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who is willing to undertake and work on projects in India; the candidates are free to participate individually or as a team.
- Candidates belonging to educational institutions with Central Government approved incubation centres can also take part in the challenge.
Guidelines for the Indian Oil Open Innovation Challenge:
- The challenge shall be entered into by registering on an online portal and filling out an online application form. All updates shall be provided on this portal.
- The intellectual property rights in the projects, innovations under the scheme shall be jointly owned by the innovator and the Central Government.
- Once a project has been selected under the scheme, various funding sources for the same project shall not be allowed.
- Technology which has been bought shall not be presented.
- The right of commercialization of the Proof of Concept (PoC) shall lie with the Central Government and such commercialization shall be set up in India.
There are certain projects which shall not be considered and are not eligible to avail of the Indian Oil Startup Scheme. The following projects shall not be supported by the Startup Fund:
- Projects and ideas which are against the essence of Make in India
- Projects related to research fellowship or purely academic research
- Projects without any view to transforming into implementable technology, product or process
- Research projects lacking visions of technological commercialization and which just involve research on scientific principles without any commercial viability.
- Projects that are unethical, harmful to the environment, unsafe and have been declared not feasible by experts.
- Technological ideas with no or only weak association with science, engineering and the environment
- Projects that involve any clinic trial, field trials or end-stage validation of technology involved.
Steps Involved in Selecting Projects – Indian Oil Startup Fund
- The first step is to identify and review relevant ideas with respect to sectors of Technology Process Re-engineering and Business Process Re-engineering.
- The projects will then be shortlisted and scrutinized by two committees
- The Level-1 Committee will shortlist ideas based on set parameters and guidelines.
- The projects shortlisted by the Level-1 Committee shall be evaluated by Level-2 Committee through presentations and discussions between the applicants and the Level-2 Committee members.
The projects selected by the Level-2 Committee shall be eligible to receive incubation support from the Indian Oil Corporation till the Proof of Concept stage, financial and mentor support, intellectual and logistical support and any other technical assistance required by the project.
The Level-1 Committee scrutinizes the application on various criteria like: Innovation level, the technical feasibility of the project, business feasibility of the project, commercial impact, commercial strategy, team profile, relevance to Indian Oil Corporation’s business, and risk and mitigation factors. The projects are marked out of a total of 100, out of which the applicants have to meet the cut of 70 marks to proceed to the next level.
The Level-2 Committee, which screens applicants on the basis of presentations and personal discussions judge them on the basis of financial viability of the model, innovation level, robustness of the implementation plan, kind of project, technology, process and presentation and personal interaction. The projects are marked out of a total of 100, out of which the applicants have to meet the cut of 60 marks for selection. A minimum of 50% is required in each category of evaluation.
Funding – Indian Oil Startup Fund
The Indian Oil Startup Fund has a revolving corpus of Rupees Thirty Crore, and this funding shall be provided to selected projects based on pre-determined timeline. For projects from the Technology Process Re-engineering sector, the funds shall be provided over a time period of Thirty-Six months and for Business Process Re-engineering projects, the funds shall be provided over a time period of Eighteen months. The funds shall be disbursed in instalments on the project achieving certain milestones. There is no royalty applicable on the funds provided to startups under the Indian Oil Startup Scheme. Indian Oil Corporation may also provide help with the commercialization of a project through equity participation after it has reached the Proof of Concept stage.
Conclusion
The Indian Oil Startup Fund is a startup scheme that has been launched by The Indian Oil Corporation Limited with a view to support projects which involve innovative technology and business process re-engineering ideas with significant business potential, social relevance, and focus on environment protection. The Indian Oil Startup Fund is brilliant way to fuel research and technological advancement and help burgeon the already thriving startup culture but in ways which create products and processes that are environment friendly and socially relevant.
Read Our Article:Process of Startup India Registration: A Step by Step Guide
