The Swachh Bharat Mission, the BJP's flagship programme to clean up cities, recognised 30 start-ups that will work closely with the government to tackle waste management using "innovative solutions", according to an ET report.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) conducted a start-up challenge earlier this year and sought solutions to tackle the issues of overflowing landfills, plastic waste and garbage.
"We sought recommendations from states and received 244 applications from start-ups," Roopa Mishra, joint secretary and National Mission director (Swachh Bharat Mission), told ET. "Of these, a jury of experts has chosen 30 start-ups to be handheld by the government."
The report said that some of the innovative solutions included robotic scavengers, conversion of chicken waste into handloom clothes with the help of local artisans and crafting carbon-negative building materials from crop residues.
The top 10 start-ups will each receive funding to the tune of Rs 25 lakhs from the MoHUA and the Agence Francaise de Developpement as well as personalised professional and capacity-building support for a year. Eligible start-ups will also receive Rs 50 lakhs in follow-on investment from Villgro.
The top 10 winners are:
1. Genrobotics: It develops robotic scavengers engineered to clean manholes and sewers, thereby eliminating manual scavenging.
2. The Kabadiwala: The company enables users to sell and schedule free pickups of over 40 different categories of recyclable wastes.
3. Bintix Waste Research: It tracks the collection, weighing, sorting and recycling of dry waste from each household.
4. Recycler India-Saltech: It transforms single-use plastics, construction and industrial waste into high-performance composite building materials.
5. JalSevak: The start-up recycles wastewater from bathrooms, sinks, washing of clothes and dishwashing to flush toilets and urinals.
6. GreenJams: It produces carbon-negative building materials from crop residues and industrial by-products to replace conventional bricks.
7. Mudita and Radhesh: It transforms chicken waste into handloom cloth, which is then used by tribal women and local village artisans to craft clothes and accessories.
8. Green Delight Innovation: It produces India’s first FDA-approved sanitary pads that are organic, plastic-free and biodegradable.
9. KNP Arises: It offers a platform for hotels, restaurants and other food businesses to dispose of used cooking oil in a traceable and effective manner.
10. Cherries: It produces portable, multi-functional Sanitation Service Equipment that pumps high-density faecal and sanitary sludge from leach pits, septic tanks and manholes.
(with agency inputs)