Ten oil and gas PSUs team up for Rs 320 crore startups fund

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Oil India Limited (OIL), GAIL India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Engineers India Limited (EIL), Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Blamer Lawrie Limited, have come together to launch over Rs 300 crore startups fund.

ONGC will alone contribute Rs 100 crore to the fund.

The fund will be used to foster nurture and incubate new ideas from startups and entrepreneurs. Every PSU participants will have its individual policies for giving grant or equity to the selected startups.

The fund will support startups or entrepreneurs serving in areas such as oil and gas, energy, waste to wealth, renewable, health and hygiene, environment and safety, IT, IoT, agriculture, nanotech intervention, education, women empowerment, rural development, skill development, project management and other areas of social impact.

Any Indian Startups firm who fulfills eligibility criteria as per the DPIIT definition can apply for the fund.  An individual or startups can send applications through online mode till April 15.

The implementing partner of the fund is KIIT- Technology Business Incubator, Bhubaneswar.

It is entrusted with responsibilities to provide screening, evaluation, selection of startups. We are moving to more than 15 cities organising roadshows at learning institutes and incubators, said Sanjukta Badhai, COO, KIIT-Technology Business Incubator.

Startups will have to pass through four stages process - eligibility screening, shortlisting, evaluation, and approval. After being selected in online preliminary screening, startups will be reviewed by another committee through presentations and personal interactions with the applicants.

The fund aims to process the proposals in four months. Startups can apply through a ongpsustartup portal.