National Startup Awards 2022 (India) Guidelines, Process, Registration Link

National Startup Awards: ‘Startup India’ is a flagship initiative that aims to create a strong ecosystem to promote innovation and startups in the country which will lead to sustainable economic growth and generate massive employment opportunities. The Startup India Action Plan consists of 19 specific work items spread across areas such as “Simplification and Handholding”,

“Funding Support and Incentives” and “Industry-Academic Partnership and Incubation”. Substantial progress has been achieved not only on the action plan but on many other initiatives beyond the action plan taken for the development of the overall development of the startup movement in the country.

As a result of the actions taken so far, the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship has been strengthened in every nook and corner of the country. The results are visible in all areas of human endeavor and in all sectors of the economy

. The National Startup Awards (NSA) have been conceptualized to further strengthen the startup ecosystem in the country.

National Startup Awards 2022 Overview

About National Startup Awards 2022

The 3rd edition of the National Startup Awards – National Startup Awards 2022 will recognize and reward outstanding startups and enablers, who have demonstrated exceptional abilities not only in terms of financial gains but also for measurable impact on society. The objective of NSA 2022 is to cover the major schemes launched by the Government of India through innovations in the respective sectors, thereby addressing community problems at large.

In line with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, National Startup Awards 2022  will acknowledge startups and enablers who have played a key role in revolutionizing the development story of India and hold within them the power and potential to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of activating India 2.0, fuelled by the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Accredited entities will benefit from such accreditation, not only in terms of being able to attract more business, financing, partnerships, and talent, but also enable them to serve as a role model for other entities, and budding entrepreneurs, and to motivate them to be purposeful and responsible about their socio-economic impact.  National Startup Award 2022 will also focus on ESG practices, climate change, and other sustainability initiatives such as blue economy, green economy, sustainable tourism, digitization, etc.

The objective of NSA 2022 is to look beyond the traditional thought process of measuring the success of a startup, with parameters such as funding, financial return to investors, etc., benefit to society, with some innovative solution/product to solve a critical problem. To develop some innovative solutions/products which is a paradigm shift in the approach in the sector/sub-sector and job creation (direct and indirect) in the country.

Categories of National Startup Awards

Awards and Honour of National Startup 2022

The following awards are given to Startups, Incubators, and Accelerators:

Startup:

1. A cash prize of INR 5 lakh will be given to a winning startup in each sub-sector.
2. The winners and finalists will be allowed to present their solutions to relevant public authorities and corporations for potential pilot projects and work orders.

• Preference will be given to winners and finalists to participate in various national and international startup events sponsored by DPIIT.

Incubator: A winning incubator will be given a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh

Accelerators: A winning accelerator will be given a cash prize of INR 15 lakhs.

Eligibility Criteria for National Startup Awards 2022

Eligibility Criteria for Startups:

• The startup should be a DPIIT-recognized startup. The entity has to submit its certificate of incorporation or partnership deed.
• The entity must have a hardware or software product or a process solution that is present in the market.
• The entity should have all applicable business-specific registrations (eg: CE, FSSAI, MSME, GST registration, etc.).
• There should not have been any default by the unit or any of its promoters or any entity of their group in the last three years (FY 2018-19, 19-20, 20-21).
• If your startup is less than 3 years old, please upload all available financial details. Startups that are less than a year old and have not had a financial audit will be exempted from this requirement. In case the audited financials for the financial year 20-21 are not available, provisional statements issued by a Chartered Accountant may be provided.

Eligibility Criteria for Incubators:

• The incubator must be structured as an independent entity – a company, a public trust, or a society.
• The incubator must be operational for at least two years as on 1 January 202.
• The incubator must have successfully graduated a minimum of 15 startups.

Eligibility Criteria for Accelerators:

• The accelerator must be structured as an independent entity—a company, a public trust or a society.
• The accelerator must be operational for at least two years on 1 January 2022.
• The accelerator must have successfully graduated a minimum of 10 startups.

Rules for National Startup Awards 2022

The following are the rules of the National Startup Awards 2022 will be followed:

• Participation in the National Startup Awards is voluntary.
• Startups/Incubators/Accelerators winning in any of the previous National Startup Awards in any category will not be eligible.
• The award application form is to be filled in English only.
• A startup can nominate itself in a maximum of 2 categories.
• Finalists may be subject to legal due diligence review by independent third-party assessors. If the individual/organization declines such a request, Startup India reserves the right to select the next highest scoring nominee as the award winner.
• By participating in the National Startup Awards, Startups, nominees, ecosystem enablers agree to use its name, URL, photo, and video for promotional purposes on its website and other promotional materials for the Government of India and its partners.
• Any false information provided in respect of National Startup Awards by any entity concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right, or non-compliance with these rules or any terms and conditions or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the entity from the awards process.
• The decisions of the Jury and the Implementation Committee will be final and binding. At the discretion of the jury, the award may not be awarded in any area or sub-sector if no eligible institution is found.
• All support agencies, the jury, will sign (physically or digitally) a non-disclosure agreement with Startup India.
• DPIIT reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the National Startup Awards or not award any entity in any sector or sub-sector. DPIIT further reserves the right to disqualify any candidate/entity that tampers with the submission process commits fraud, or is in violation of criminal and/or civil laws.
• No allowance shall be paid to any institution for traveling or presentation before the Jury.

How to Register for National Startup Awards 2022

Step I: Visit the official website of MyGov at mygov. in or startupindia.gov.in or Click this link to directly visit the Registration Page of StartUpIndia.

Step II: After clicking the above link, the Official website opens. On the right side, two links are shown on the screen.

• Apply As Startup
• Apply As Enabler (for Incubators and Accelerator)

Step III: Click the above Apply link to register for this National Startup Awards 2022.

Step IV: After clicking the apply link, the registration form for National Startup 2022 will open.

Step V: Enter all the details asked in the registration form and upload all the documents asked on the registration form.

Step VI: Enter all the details then click on the “Submit” button.

I hope you like this article about the National Startup Award 2022. If you have any queries regarding the 2022 National Startup Award (India) then comment below in the comment section.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)