New Delhi: Industry body FICCI and Mercedes-Benz India on Tuesday launched an innovation and business ideas challenge programme with an eye on nurturing early-stage innovators and strengthening the country's startup ecosystem.
The FICCI Mercedes-Benz 'Bharat Innovation & Business Ideas Challenge Programme' will focus on priority sectors such as manufacturing, sustainability, decarbonisation, electric mobility, and education -- key pillars for India's development goals.
Selected innovators will gain access to expert mentorship, industry exposure, opportunities to present at FICCI's flagship platforms, and, for the top seven winners, innovation support of up to Rs 30 lakh, along with year-long hand-holding and industry access.
Speaking at the launch, DPIIT Joint Secretary Sanjiv Singh stressed the need for collaborations between corporates and startups, saying global best practices show innovation flourishes when large enterprises actively engage with agile young companies, a principle that is now shaping India's own startup ecosystem.
"Innovation does not happen in isolation. Corporates bring scale and experience, while startups bring speed, agility, and the courage to experiment and fail fast. India's startup ecosystem is at a point of inflection; innovation is no longer optional, it is our growth engine. The next decade will belong to ecosystems that reward collaboration over isolation and build solutions for global markets," he noted.
Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Santosh Iyer said, "This collaboration reflects our shared belief that innovation, entrepreneurship, and skill development are fundamental to building a resilient, sustainable, and globally competitive India." Emphasising the importance of supporting early-stage ideas that align with national development priorities, he said, "Mercedes-Benz is proud to call itself a 140-year-old startup; we invented the car, and we continue to reinvent it."
He further said, "With this programme, we aim to extend that spirit of innovation to India's young entrepreneurs by fostering high-potential ideas, enabling lab-to-market transitions and strengthening industry-academia collaboration in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat." FICCI Director General Jyoti Vij said India stands at a defining moment in its economic and technological journey, where innovation has become a central pillar of growth. The country's entrepreneurial energy is no longer confined to metros, but is emerging strongly from campuses, incubators, research labs, and Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions, reflecting a broad-based and nationally transformative startup movement, she noted.
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