Gujarat Government Earmarks INR 500 Cr For Climate Action Startups

In a bid to reduce carbon emission and improve green cover in the state, Gujarat’s climate change department has recently earmarked INR 500 Cr for climate action startups for the next five years, as per the Ahmedabad Mirror. 

The fund will be directed to student startups and startup founders, who are under 35 years and are not students. 

Under this initiative, the climate change department will primarily be focusing on climate change startups that are contributing to society. 

Principal secretary of climate change department S J Haider said, “Under the Student Startup Innovation Policy 2.0 (SSIP 2.0), we have kept provision of INR 300 Cr for the startups plus another INR 200 Cr for the private startups too, making it a total of INR 500 Cr.”

The climate change department will invest upto INR 2.5 Lakh in startups at the ideation or ‘proof of concept’ stage while startups at an advanced stage offering products or services will receive up to INR 10 Lakh seed fund. 

It will further scrutinise the selected startups by procuring their products and services.  

Under the SSIP 2.0, startup founders upto the age of 35 years who have either completed their studies or are school dropouts, are also eligible for the fund. The climate change department will connect such startups with different departments such as roads and buildings, and forest among others that can buy their products or services.

The move comes two weeks after Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel announced that the state (Gujarat) will comply with PM’s vision ‘Net Zero by 2070’. Patel also informed that INR 910 Cr is allotted to climate change in the budget. 

Net zero means reducing carbon emissions by implementing ways to absorb carbon dioxide from the environment. 

Some of the climate action startups that Gujarat’s climate change department is looking at are Triecon Developers LLP, Orgro Fibre LLP and Ecoterra Biodesign.  

In December 2021, cleantech startup Atomberg Technologies grabbed $20 Mn in the funding round led by Jungle Ventures. The round also saw participation from Inflexor Ventures and its existing investors A91 Partners and Ramakant Sharma, cofounder of Livspace. 

Before this, Atomberg Technologies also raised an undisclosed amount from Deepika Padukone-led investment firm KA Enterprises in its Series B funding round.

In August 2021, cleantech startup Chakr Innovation raised INR 2 Cr from Startup India-affiliated ‘ONGC Start-up Fund’. According to an Inc42 report, ONGC was allotted 592 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) at a premium of INR 33,683.78.