Applications are open for agri-tech companies across India
Guwahati: The Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) and the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) have jointly initiated an open challenge for agri-tech companies to apply for funding through the Assam AgTech Open Challenge programme.
"We will support 10-12 agri tech companies", Nitin Singh, financial services specialist at Assam Agribusiness Rural Transformation Project (APART) Assam informed Business North East. "The funds will range from Rs 20-25 lakhs. More than the funding, it is the support that we are offering which will be more invaluable”, opined Singh. The whole procedure will be completed within February.
Singh further said those companies who set up their operations in Assam and Guwahati would work with the farmer FPCs. They would be trained, mentored, or facilitated. "These expenses will be taken care of by the STPI and ARIAS society for the companies. This is the first time STPI and ARIAS society came together to bring technology to agriculture."
These agrotech companies could be anybody working with drones, robotics, precision agriculture, soil management, sensors, Informational and Communication Technology (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), etc. Through these initiatives, productivity will be enhanced at the grassroots level, and farmers’ income will be enhanced, stated an official.
MANAGE, an agribusiness institute from Hyderabad, CIIE.CO, an Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad incubator, and Caspian Impact Investment Advisors are some of the knowledge partners. The organizers say they are also going to leverage partnerships that they have with international institutes like ED International, World Fish, International Centre for Potato, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ICRISAT), International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), etc. that already have a presence in Assam.
"STPI's recent focus is on entrepreneurship development, mostly through product and solution development", an STPI official, who was asked about the initiative, informed Business North East. "The open challenge is purely for agri-tech companies and the selected ones will get seed funding, mentorship support, business exposure, and market linkage."
The organizers are also conducting road shows in four cities Delhi, Guwahati, Bangalore, and Hyderabad - to reach out to potential participants.
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