Objective


The objective of NRL’s startup initiative is to boost the startup ecosystem in the region and foster an entrepreneurial culture leveraging on innovation. NRL has earmarked fund to invest in selected startups, primarily from the NE region, that have the potential to grow in future. Present fund size is Rs. 10 crores, which is being utilized for funding startup ideas by way of grant. NRL plans to invest equity in future. The selection of startup is made from the proposals submitted in the dedicated web portal www.ideation.nrl.co.in.

Strategic alignment


NRL will keep its focus on the North East region in line with its mission and vision, i.e. to give an impetus to the industrial development in the region.


Eligibility Criteria


  • Any Indian Citizen
  • Any NRI
  • NRL Employees on lien
  • For all categories, project to be based out of or in North East India
 
 

Selection Process


A dedicated web portal (www.ideation.nrl.co.in) has been made available for submission of startup proposals which will be open for applications from interested startups throughout the year. Proposals received in the portal will be downloaded once in every quarter and shall be screened and processed in three stages as detailed below

a) Stage 1: Screening & Preliminary Evaluation: Proposals received in the portal will be downloaded once in three months. During initial screening, the proposals will be evaluated against different criteria such as Innovation, Technology, Technical Feasibility, Market Potential, Competitive Advantage, Socio Economic Impact, Team Profile, etc. Shortlisted proposals shall be invited for pitching in Jury Round.

b) Stage 2: Evaluation by Jury: Startup proposals selected in Stage 1 will be sent to the Jury Committee for next round of evaluation. The jury will review / shortlist ideas and invite proposals for the presentation round. In the presentation round startups will be given an opportunity to pitch their Business Plan. Based on the presentations made, the jury will recommend startup proposals for funding by NRL.

c) Stage 3: Final Approval: Startup proposals evaluated by the jury in stage 2 and recommended for funding will be processed to make the proposals ready for funding. During this phase activities like finalization of agreement, milestone and timeline of funding, formation of startup companies will be completed. Proposals ready for funding will be put up for final approval and disbursement of fund.

 
 

General Guidelines


  • Applicants may be individuals or teams.
  • Applications that are received only through online application will be considered for screening, evaluation and selection.
  • Multiple sources of funding shall not be allowed for projects once they are selected under NRL’s Startup event
  • No bought-out technology shall be considered.
  • IP rights emanating from the work carried out under the scheme can be retained by the innovator/entrepreneur. However, the first right of refusal for commercialisation of any validated PoC will be with NRL.
  • Online submission of application will be remained open for limited time only.
  • Applicant can save his/her application as a draft as many time as he/she wants before submitting final copy of his/her idea(s)
  • Only Submitted status application will be considered as final application for evaluation
  • More than one Idea can be applied by Individual or other type of applicant in any category as available in the online application from.
  • Applicant can download filled application form from the website through Sign-In.
  • Applicant can upload one file in pdf format with maximum 2Mb size to state his/her Ideas details including Feasibility of the idea, Novelty / Innovation, Importance and potential impact, Strategy for commercialization, Barriers / Risks and strategies to address them, Team profile and capabilities, Project plan, diagram, flow chart etc.
  • Top three ideas from each category as ranked by the Jury will be awarded at the end of the competition

Fund


Funding Methodology Funding to startups will be by way of -

a. Grant

b. Equity

c. Mix of equity and grant (Proposed)

At present, funding to startups will be by way of grant only. For funding ‘by way of equity’ and ‘mix of equity and grant’ shall be done after obtaining the NRL Board’s approval for equity funding. Jury will recommend startup proposals for funding.In case, funding to a startup is routed through an Incubation Centre, wholly or partly, all payments made to the Incubation Centre, including payments towards use of incubation facility will be considered as a part of funding to the startup.

 
 

Disbursement of fund


Disbursement of fund: The first tranche shall be disbursed after signing of agreement between NRL and the selected startup. Fund disbursement from first milestone onwards (Tranche 2), will be based on review and fund utilization. The startup has to submit a fund utilisation certificate duly vetted by a chartered accountant.

 
 

Monitoring of performance


Performance of the startups funded by NRL will be reviewed by NRL on a periodic basis including achievements of agreed milestones.

 
 

Target Domain of the Fund


NRL will look for promising business ideas that has potential to grow and mature into a commercially successful venture in the field of:

  • Innovation in unrelated business
  • Innovation that can strengthen existing core business
  • Disruptive innovation in energy sector
 
 

Type of proposals


    NRL will look for promising business ideas in the field of:

  • Technology or Product Innovation
  • Business process improvement innovations