New Delhi, NFA Post: Nasscom Centre of Excellence IoT& AI, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and the Gujarat government, launched the second edition of the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge 2020 (MIC2020) from 12th October 2020 to 12th December 2020.
The objective of this challenge is to build the first-of-a-kind platform for enterprise and start-up collaboration to solve key challenges the manufacturing industry is facing today.
Nasscom CoE in conjunction with RPG Group, JK Lakshmi Cement, Thermax Limited, Mother Dairy, Grasim Industries and Minda Industries have nominated six use cases in three broad categories of Resource Optimisation, Improved Throughput and Supply Chain for which startups will be encouraged to solve challenges by submitting a proposal.
Mentoring support
Top 18 startups will then be presented to Jury that will have representation from senior leaders from industry, academia and government. Start-ups will also receive mentoring support throughout their journey in the challenge to better prepare them for the challenge.
First edition of MIC2020 received an overwhelming response as 88 matured startups from across the country registered for the challenges, and they went through a rigorous screening process of four rounds.
Speaking at the launch, Nasscom CoE Senior Director & Vertical Head Manufacturing Amit Saluja said Nasscom CoE is building an ecosystem for manufacturing companies to work with technology companies and innovative start-ups to drive adoption of Industry 4.0 solutions.
Solution partner
“MIC2020 was launched to accelerate this mission and received an exceptional response. This challenge created value for everyone as it helped enterprises find the best solution partner and start-ups got an opportunity to work with their dream companies. The success of this program has motivated us to run these challenges every quarter, and we look forward to getting similar support in all our future initiatives,” said Nasscom CoE Senior Director & Vertical Head Manufacturing Amit Saluja.
RPG Group Vice President and Group Head- Digital and Innovation Samip Mutha said he thinks events like MIC not only helps start ups to showcase their capabilities and solutions in solving real business problem but also helps industries to solve some of the crucial problems in much shorter time.
“This in a way helps accelerate the journey of Digital Transformation. Typically vendor identification and finalization may take anywhere between 3-4 months, which can happen in less than a month thru this platform. It’s a great opportunity and a platform for both Solution Providers and Industry to mutually benefit from,” says RPG Group Vice President and Group Head- Digital and Innovation Samip Mutha.
Digital transformation
Manufacturing Innovation Challenge helps the companies connect with top-class start-ups which can be of immense help in creating future innovations.
“The platforms can accelerate to kick-start a Digital Transformation journey in the country’s formidable industries. In current times, self-reliance is of utmost importance and Government of India has also called for AatmaNirbhar Bharat,” said RPG Group Vice President and Group Head- Digital and Innovation Samip Mutha.
RPG Group Vice President and Group Head- Digital and Innovation Samip Mutha said Nasscom’s startups have a high calibre to drive incremental change using technology, and Nasscom CoE is trying to build capabilities that will bolster self-reliance and innovation.
Emerging technologies
The Nasscom Center of Excellence is the largest collaborative innovation platform in the emerging technologies of IoT, Analytics, AI/ML, AR/VR and Robotics for Digital Transformation. It is part of the Digital India Initiative to jumpstart and drive the emerging technologies ecosystem in India, by leveraging India’s IT strengths and assist the country attain a leadership role in the convergent area of hardware and software.
The main objective of the CoE is to help Indian Deep-Tech Startups& Companies leverage cutting edge technologies to build market-ready products. Through the Startups Program, CoE aims to build industry capable talent in an entrepreneurial ecosystem by facilitating Incubation, Funding, Acceleration, Industry Connect and Mentoring.
Nasscom CoE was setup in July 2016 as part of the Digital India initiative of MeitY, with the objective of aiding innovative start-ups in the emerging technologies. Nasscom CoE-IoT has centers in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Gandhinagar and Vizag.
