To support the start-up industry, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have developed an innovative platform. The portal was unveiled by Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, on Wednesday, October 25, with the aim of strengthening the startup sector by providing entrepreneurs with a comprehensive overview of government funding opportunities. The government funding information platform for start-ups contains comprehensive details on more than 100 schemes from various ministries and departments. The schemes have already benefited nearly 10,000 start-ups.

Many of these startups undergo rigorous verification and due diligence before receiving government support. The prominent showcasing of these government-supported startups also serves to attract private sector investors, such as angel investors and venture capitalists, for subsequent funding rounds. By consolidating information from all government schemes, the platform effectively communicates the collective impact of these initiatives.

In an endeavour to boost the start-up sector, the Centre for Research on Start-ups and Risk Financing (CREST), @iitmadras, has developed an ‘Intelligence Platform on Government Funding Schemes for Start-ups’. It is developed in partnership with @YnosIn, #IITM-incubated start-up. pic.twitter.com/tX9m9CJtD0

— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) October 25, 2023

According to an official release, a collaborative effort with YNOS, a startup incubated at IIT Madras, led to the development and implementation of a government funding platform. This platform conveniently centralises various government-sponsored startup schemes, making them easily accessible to entrepreneurs. 

Mr Kant highlighted the platform’s capabilities, noting that entrepreneurs can now effortlessly access information on all government schemes with a simple mouse click. Additionally, the platform offers in-depth analytics, such as details on the startups that have benefited from these schemes, the average financial investments received, the age of startups at the time of funding, the number of founders in the startup, and the age of the founders when they received financial support.

A 16-year-old girl was burned to death at her home in UP on Thursday with her family accusing eight men of killing the minor over an old rivalry, police said.

The victim’s father, in his complaint, alleged that his daughter was alone at home when the accused entered his house and burned her to death, they said.

He has accused eight men with whom he has an old rivalry for the murder, police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Elamaran G told PTI that an FIR has been registered against the eight accused under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

“It has been found in the preliminary investigation that one of the accused had some old rivalry with the girl’s father. However, prima facie it appears that the minor committed suicide,” the officer said.

Efforts are on to arrest the accused people and further investigation is underway, police said, adding that the body has been sent for post-mortem.

Five children were injured on Thursday when their school van overturned here after its driver, who was apparently using his mobile phone while driving, lost control of the vehicle.

The accident took place in Pali Khurd village when the students of classes V to VIII were on their way to the school. The van driver had lost control of the vehicle after it hit a roadside barrier on a raised portion built on the road along a canal, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Satya Pal Singh said.

There were about 12 children travelling in the van. Five of them were injured and admitted to the Community Health Centre and private hospital for treatment, police said.

One of the students, who was seriously injured, has been referred to the district hospital, they said.

The children travelling in the van said the driver was using the mobile phone while driving due to which he lost control of the vehicle. The driver left the van and ran away.

The villagers working in the nearby fields pulled out the children and rushed them for medical aid, the SP added.