Launch Function of Start-Up Programme for Entrepreneurs In Oil & Gas Sector
New Delhi 25-Oct-2017
The 'Start-up India' initiative was announced by Shri Narendra Modi, Hon'ble Prime Minister, in January 2016. Various Ministries of the Government of India have initiated a number of activities as part of this initiative to create a conducive environment for start-ups in the country. The overwhelming response to the initiative from across the nation reiterates the fact the there is an immense talent pool within the country that needs to be nurtured.
India, already home to the world's third largest start-up ecosystem, witnesses the emergence of 3 to 4 new startups every day, making it the fastest growing Start-up base in the world.
With the influx of over $5 billion in investments from both Indian and global investors, the start-up eco-system has generated employment for over a million people and continues to improve the macro-economic indicators of the nation.
Close to 4,400 technology startups exist in India and the number is expected to reach over 12,000 by the year 2020. India is also at the third place behind US and Britain in terms of the number of startups.
With its energy consumption projected to grow by 128% till the year 2035 (BP Energy Outlook), India is looking to expand its energy portfolio in a big way. It is, therefore, imperative that innovative ideas and technologies are incorporated in the energy sector to bring about a transformation and accelerate growth.
The oil & gas industry offers immense potential in areas like Fuel Cells, Solar Energy, Hydrogen, Alternative Sources of Energy, Electric Vehicles, etc., much of which remains untapped and unexplored.
Backing the spirit of innovation, 10 public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, that is, IOCL, ONGC, EIL, OIL, NRL, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, Balmer Lawrie and MRPL, have created a corpus of Rs. 320 crore for a period of 3 years to support start-up initiatives in the oil & gas domain.
Since the launch of the scheme by the PSUs, there has been a constant flow of applications and some extremely innovative ideas have come through. The Start-up ideas have been received from a varying age group (from a fresh engineering graduate to a 70-year-old entrepreneur) from across the country.
The 10 oil PSUs have together selected nearly 30 start-up projects for support in the first round of the scheme. Some of the many innovative projects that have made it after rigorous evaluation include:
● Electronic leak detector for detecting body and bung leak of LPG cylinders
● Self-sustaining low-maintenance toilets, or eco-toilets
● Multiuse Fuel from Agricultural Waste Biomass
● Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for underwater inspections
● Converting waste plastics to high value petroleum fuels
● Solar Stove - Revolutionary Day & Night Indoor Solar Cooktop System for all lifestyles
The oil & gas sector companies have the requisite technical acumen and the financial strength to act as venture capitalists to the young and talented entrepreneurs who wish to build businesses based on innovative ideas.
