Applications now open for ‘Innovation for India Awards 2023’ by Marico Innovation Foundation

Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF) through two of its flagship programs, Innovation For India Awards and Scale-Up, is supporting disruptive innovations in India.

MIF works with a focused mission of nurturing game-changing innovations in India and helping them scale up for enhanced economic and social value.

Innovation. The word has morphed the world around us. The last two years especially, are a prime example of how innovation can create opportunities even in the most challenging circumstances. From reimagining supply chains to restructuring learning, we have witnessed the steady clip at which innovation has unfurled in India. Its place in our future is undeniable.

The innovation potential that India holds also has started becoming increasingly apparent in the global arena with the Indian startup economy having recently added its 100th unicorn just earlier this month.

MIF saw glimmers of this potential early on in 2003 when the foundation was born out of Harsh Mariwala’s passion and vision and has since been at the forefront of championing innovations long before they became mainstream conversation.

It is also why MIF recognised the need to conceptualise and present the first-ever Indian Innovation Award platform as early as 2006.

This platform, an industry benchmark for innovation awards today, handpicks and celebrates the next big innovations that go on to become category creators or early disruptors. The platform presents their powerful and invigorating stories with a vision to bring about a domino effect on a generation of future entrepreneurs.

Some of the winners in the earlier editions are Rivigo (a global first idea and unicorn of India using ‘driver relay’ model in logistics bringing down cost by 40 percent) Olympic Gold Quest recognised in 2020 which has supported Olympic medallists like Lovlina Borgohain, Mirabai Chanu, Goonj (known for its quick response in disaster relief), and Akshaya Patra, to name a few.

In 2020, MIF’s community of winners included Agasta, an innovator that has developed the world's smallest and most intelligent medical-grade 12-lead ECG devices that can be carried around in your pocket; helping in early diagnosis and hence management of lifestyle diseases and Genrobotics, an innovation that has created the ultimate robotic sewage cleaning device that cleans manholes and brings quality changes in the lives of manual scavengers.

The ninth edition of the Innovation for India Awards 2023 is set to bring forth noteworthy innovations that are not only going to be the first of its kind in the country, but perhaps the world.

Looking ahead: Innovation for India Awards 2023

Known for its penchant for unearthing and recognising the 'next-big innovations’, the 9^th edition of the Innovation for India awards invites innovators from the following two categories:

Business category: startups and corporates

Social category: not-for-profit organisations such NGOs, government entities, philanthropic bodies, charitable trusts, multilateral agencies, community foundations, and CSR/corporate funds.

The process of identifying these game-changing innovations is one-of-a-kind and extremely robust. Through a two-round jury process that includes in-depth due-diligence and on-ground immersion, interviews with the founders and management as a part of the diligence process, the jury hand-picks the next big innovations of India.

Praxis Global Alliance, the advisors for this edition, is partnering with MIF to shortlist the nominations for the awards and the final winners and will be evaluating the winners on four critical pillars - uniqueness, impact, scalability, and sustainability.

Winners get a unique chance to present their innovations on a widely acclaimed and prestigious platform and get an opportunity to be inducted into MIF’s no-equity, rapid acceleration program and get access to industry veterans and leaders who can help accelerate their journey to the next level by helping them understand their growth bottlenecks and unleashing their untapped potential. They also stand a chance to get extensive recognition for the innovation through dedicated media coverage across relevant platforms of the country.

The last date To apply is July 31, 2022

To get more information on the application form, guidelines, and criteria, you can view the application form here.