Contest to pick country's top social innovations

As part of the activities lined up for the forthcoming Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) in Bengaluru, the Ministry of External Affairs is organising a national contest to identify the country's top 25 social innovations.
The Ministry will be conducting this nation-wide search with the support of Atal Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog.
"As part of the various activities planned for the forthcoming Pravasi Bhartiya Divas from January 7 to 9, the Economic Diplomacy Division of the MEA is organising a national contest to identify India's top 25 social innovations," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
The objective of the contest is to identify a pool of social impact innovators that have developed or are developing commercially feasible solutions to the socio-economic problems of the country, he said.

"This would facilitate the creation of a community of innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, grant bodies, and mentors to support the selected start-ups for commercialisation and scale up," Swarup added.
The key focus sectors for the contest include areas like clean technology, education, health, housing, public transport, skill development and livelihood, waste management, water and sanitation and women empowerment, the MEA said.
The 25 best innovative start-ups with a social impact will be showcased to NRIs participating in the event through an exhibition.
"The exhibition will offer an excellent opportunity for the Indian diaspora (those who represent angel investors and private equity interests) to connect and interact with these social innovators and associate themselves with the social entrepreneurship movement in the country," Swarup said.