Ministry of Railways Invests in Indian Startup Under Innovation Policy

Under its Innovation Policy initiative, the Ministry of Railways (MoR) would invest up to INR 1.5 crore in Indian enterprises. Startups that can produce low-cost goods and solutions for the Indian Railways network will be chosen by the ministry.

The government hopes to solve the Indian Railways’ quality, dependability, and maintainability difficulties with this action. It also intends to use new technology produced by Indian entrepreneurs to improve the Indian Railways’ operating efficiency and safety.

The government will fund in the earliest phases, proof of concept, and seed investment stages to alleviate the financial restrictions of the shortlisted firms.

The investment initiative would be based on a 50:50 cost-sharing arrangement between Indian Railways and the startup or innovator. Startups and innovators can get up to INR1.5 crore in funding.

Indian startups must be formed under the Companies Act 1956/2013, principally as Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as specified in the MSME Act, 2006, to be eligible for the Innovation Policy. Individual innovators, as well as research and development (R&D) institutes, are eligible to apply.

The Railway Board’s Efficiency & Research Directorate will be in charge of the policy.

According to the policy, an innovator or startup will hold all Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) generated by the initiative. It can, however, be expanded to include any partners as joint owners only with the Railway Board’s previous consent.

Government Purpose Rights (GPRs) would be retained by Indian Railways, which will be an exclusive, transferable, and irreversible license to utilize the IP (Intellectual Property) for internal consumption or manufacturing.

Indian Railways has shown interest in technology and the Indian startup ecosystem throughout the years. Indian Railways has used technology in the past to improve operations and its online platform.