Research

Student Startup and Innovation Policy 2.0

of Gujarat Knowledge Society- Govt of Gujarat

Innovation and entrepreneurship are looked upon as two imperative drivers of the prosperity and growth of a Nation. The Government has made dedicated efforts to perpetuate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst the youth by introducing various initiatives such as Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, National Innovation and Start-up Policy to name a few.

In its 75th year of Independence when India is celebrating ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Gujarat is committed to realizing the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. Culturally endowed with a spirit of enterprise, Gujarat has been proactively inculcating innovation and entrepreneurship across the academia, through the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP).

In its first phase, the SSIP focused on fostering the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship along with institutionalizing the support mechanisms and creating incubation opportunities across higher and technical education institutions.

SSIP 2.0 is an eloquent manifestation of the commitment of the Government to further strengthen and encourage the Innovation and Start- up culture in the State. The efforts of the SSIP Formulation Committee, Gujarat Knowledge Society, Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat, and other officials of the Department of Education are duly acknowledged. Last but not the least, we are truly indebted to the Government of India and the Gujarat Government for their unstinting guidance and support without which SSIP 2.0 could not have seen the light of the day.

The Student Start-up and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0) aims to promote innovations and Start-ups in the traditional and new age technology along with the sunrise sectors. The innovations in clean and green energy, climate change towards achieving India’s pledge of net zero emissions by 2070 will be encouraged. Thrust areas like semi-conductors, robotics, electric vehicles, waste management, artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, Blockchain will also be in focus. However, the Policy aims to support sector agnostic innovations and Start-ups.

The State Education Department is further strengthening the Policy and broadening its outreach such that a resilient end-to-end ecosystem is developed. The Policy establishes progressive linkages amongst innovation, execution, business development and market entry. The Policy will institutionalize support mechanism that progressively facilitates students through each stage of their entrepreneurial journey. The Policy emphasizes horizontal inclusion of all streams across the academia and vertical extension in Schools, Institutes and Universities.

Guideline for Beneficiaries:

Any person up to the age of 35 years, who is:
a) A school student of foundational/ preparatory/ middle/ secondary level (up to Class 12)
b) A diploma/ vocational/ undergraduate/ postgraduate/ doctoral student or an alumna/ alumnus
c) Any dropout from School / Institute / University.

The innovation of the beneficiary should contribute towards either development or improvement of any product or process or service in existing or new fields; or should be a scalable business model with a potential to generate employment or wealth creation.

Institute Level SSIP Scrutiny Committee