Seventy-six (76) start-ups were shortlisted for the ‘India Water Pitch-Pilot-Scale Start-Up Challenge’ by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) at an event in New Delhi today. The shortlisted start-ups will be given financial support of up to ₹20,000 each to work in the areas of water supply, water management, water body rejuvenation and groundwater management etc., said Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Shri Kaushal Kishore, Minister of State for MoHUA, Shri Manoj Joshi (Secretary MoHUA), Mrs. D. Thara (Additional Secretary) and other dignitaries were present during the event. The start-ups were shortlisted by the ministry through a call process launched in March 2022 under the AMRUT 2.0 mission. In this regard, a ‘Startup Gateway’ has also been launched where start-ups can apply and be shortlisted by MoHUA for financial support.
During the event, the ministry also launched a toolkit for ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ in 485 cities. Pey Jal Survekshan under the Jal Jeevan Mission will assess cities with respect to water quality and quality of water supply to citizens, along with sanitation, sewage management, grievance redressal, water body protection, groundwater management, etc.
The event also witnessed the awarding of the best 25 photographs from the MoHUA photography competition with a prize of ₹10,000 each. The competition for students was organized by the department under ‘Mission Amrit Sarovar’ to spread awareness among the masses about the conservation of water bodies.
Later during the event, the Urban Waterbody Information System (UWaIS) portal was also launched with the help of the National Center for Remote Sensing, Hyderabad. The portal will provide satellite images of water bodies to various cities for planning their rejuvenation. During the event, the documentation of UWaIS water bodies was handed over to 219 cities.
