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The budget has turbocharged Digital India's dream through initiatives focused on emerging technologies and improved business policies, said STPI DG Arvind Kumar.

The Union Budget 2023 has been well received by the software technology industry in India. Arvind Kumar, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), has said that the budget’s emphasis on emerging technologies and enhanced business policies will significantly boost the Digital India initiative.

According to STPI chief, India possesses vast amounts of data, and the newly announced National Data Governance policy will provide entrepreneurs and startups with access to this data, allowing them to create world-class products. He said that “the policy will play a crucial role in India’s ability to become a global technology leader.”

In addition to the data governance policy, the budget also includes the creation of three centers of excellence for artificial intelligence (AI). Kumar sees this as a catalyst for startups and entrepreneurs across India, as it will help to build a thriving AI ecosystem. He said that this will not only drive innovation in AI but also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop cutting-edge solutions and create new job opportunities.

“The announcement of creating three centres of excellence will also catalyse startups and entrepreneurs across India to build the next-generation AI ecosystem,” he said.

According to Kumar, the budget’s emphasis on digital transformation and the growth of emerging technologies is expected to have a significant impact on India’s software industry. With the government’s support, entrepreneurs and startups will be able to leverage these technologies to create new products, services, and business models, leading to a more robust and dynamic economy.

Kumar said that the budget represents a major step forward for India’s technology industry and that STPI is committed to supporting the government’s vision for a digital India. He stressed that with the right policies and support, India has the potential to become a global leader in technology, and he is optimistic about the future of the industry in the country.

Union Budget 2023 has been welcomed by the software technology industry in India, with many experts seeing it as a major boost for the government’s Digital India initiative. The focus on emerging technologies, data governance, and AI centers of excellence is expected to drive innovation, create new job opportunities, and propel India’s software industry to new heights.

Press Release

SFGC program: STPI, MeitY award Rs. 20 Lakh grant to 4 startups for creating solutions in growth of sugarcane harvest

• Aligning with MeitY and STPI’s vision for promoting innovation beyond tier I cities, two of the four selected startups belong to the Tier II/III cities of India

New Delhi, February 1, 2023: Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous Society of Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), Government of India (GoI), has awarded the 4 winning startups with Product Development Grants of Rs. 20 Lakhs each for qualifying the second stage of the Smart Farm Grant Challenge (SFGC) Program.

The award ceremony was held at Electronics Niketan, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) in New Delhi and saw the presence of Sh. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, MeitY, GoI; Sh. Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, GoI; Sh. Akash Tripathi, Joint Secretary, MeitY, GoI and Sh. Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI.
Shri Roshan Lal Tamak, Executive Director of DCM Sriram, and other senior representatives from Ministry, STPI & Industry also attended the event.
SFGC was initiated with the goal of creating cutting-edge approaches for sugarcane harvesting and received an impressive response in the form of 474 submissions. The challenge aimed to predict the optimum time for harvest, estimate sugar content, identify mature plots, and provide insights in an easily interpretable format.

An expert Jury had pre-screened 108 applications and shortlisted 25 start-ups for pitch presentation. Subsequently, 10 start-ups were recommended for a prototype grant of Rs. 5 Lakh each in September 2022. After 3 months of rapid development and validation, the top 4 start-ups have been selected by the Jury for product development grant of Rs. 20 Lakhs each.
“When it comes to agriculture, a farmer is the most difficult entity. They live with the uncertainty of the weather. With the products of these startups, we are hoping that it will increase the efficacy of the produce and ensure that the right kind of moisture is present in the soil. It's a matter of great pride that now academia is participating in creating a whole new ecosystem of end-to-end solutions,” said Sh. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, MeitY, GoI.

“The challenge aims to provide a digital solution for optimum sugarcane harvest. The SFGC program was launched on May 9, 2022. The first stage was the ideation stage and in it, we distributed ₹5 lakhs each to 10 shortlisted startups so that they can develop products for optimum sugarcane harvest. Out of them, 4 were shortlisted today by jury and were given ₹20 lakhs each in the second stage of product development grant ceremony,” said Sh, Arvind Kumar, DG, STPI.
Sh. Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, GoI, said, “The growth in the agriculture sector has been tremendous and with the advent of technology, many new innovations have come up. Through this challenge, we are scouting many such technological interventions  so that we can attain good recovery for the sugarcane crop and the sugar which is produced from the sugarcane turns out to be optimum.”

“After the Green Revolution, agricultural production has certainly ramped up in India, but now it has reached a plateau. So, now we need some new initiatives and new technological interventions so that we can grow our current production. So, this particular grant challenge will ramp up our sugarcane production. Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop, so the right use of water could be another strong statement for us in the sector," said Shri Akash Tripathi, Joint Secretary, MeitY, GoI. 

Amongst the 4 winners -- AGAutomate Private Limited, GB Pant University of Agriculture & University, AGMitra Technologies Private Limited and Satyukt Analytics Private Limited -- each will develop product over next 6 months and eventually one of them will be declared final winner. The final winner will receive INR 50 Lakh in the first year and INR 10 lakhs per year for the next two years towards the operation and maintenance of the solution.

The winning solution will be deployed in a 100-acre plot area for use by the Government of India, state government entities, and sugar mills for a period of three years. The winner startup will provide dissemination advisory to farmers for the next two years.
With programs like SFGC, MeitY and STPI are charting a new course for innovation and entrepreneurship in the country which does not limit itself to Tier-I / Metro locations. Today’s felicitation is a testimony to that fact given that two of the four selected teams come from Tier II/III cities.

About SFGC:

SFGC is a futuristic initiative aimed at transforming the agriculture industry in India and enhancing farmers' livelihoods. With technology intervention at the forefront, the solutions developed through the SFGC challenge program will provide farmers with cutting-edge technologies and data-driven insights to optimize their operations and boost harvest yields.