“Chunauti”- Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest

Context

• Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad on 28 th August 2020, launched “Chunauti”- Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest to further boost startups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns of India.

Key-points

• The programme aims to identify around 300 startups working in identified areas and provide them seed fund of upto Rs. 25 Lakh and other facilities.
• Lays Foundation of IT Capacity Building Center of NIELIT in Muzaffarpur in Bihar
• Shri Prasad urged the young, talented innovators of India to come forward and avail benefits of Chunauti challenge and create new software products and apps.

About Chunauti

• The government has earmarked a budget of Rs. 95.03 Crore over a period of three years for this programme. It aims to identify around 300 startups working in identified areas and provide them seed fund of upto Rs. 25 Lakh and other facilities.
• Under this challenge the Ministry of Electronics and IT will invite startups in the following areas of work-

1. Edu-Tech, Agri-Tech & Fin-Tech Solutions for masses
2. Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation Management
3. Infrastructure & Remote monitoring
4. Medical Healthcare, Diagnostic, Preventive & Psychological Care
5. Jobs & Skilling, Linguistic tools & technologies

• The startups selected through Chunauti will be provided various support from the Government through Software Technology Parks of India centers across India. They will get incubation facilities, mentorship, security testing facilities, access to venture capitalist funding, industry connect as well as advisories in legal, Human Resource (HR), IPR and Patent matters.
• Besides seed fund of upto Rs. 25 Lakh, the startups will also be provided cloud credits from leading cloud service providers. Start-ups who are in the ideation stage may be selected under the pre-incubation programme & mentored for up-to six months to evolve their business plan & solution around the proposed idea.
• Each intern (start-up under pre-incubation) will be paid Rs. 10,000/- per month upto a period of 6 months.
• Digital training and Skilling center of National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) at Muzaffarpur in Bihar will be developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 9.17 Crore.
• This center will be equipped with the state of the art training facility with a digital laboratory. Different courses such as O level, CCC, BCC, Programming and multimedia training will be offered from this center.

Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis

Why in NEWS?

• China to Unveil Bronze Statue Of Indian Doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis.

About

• A bronze statue of Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis, would be unveiled outside a medical school in North China.
• Kotnis’ medical assistance during the difficult days of the Chinese revolution was praised by Chinese leader Mao Zedong. His statues and memorials were also set in some of the Chinese cities in recognition of his services.
• The bronze statue of Kotnis, known in China as Ke Dihua, would be formally unveiled at the medical school at Shijiazhuang in September 2020.
• Apart from the school named after him as the Shijiazhuang Ke Dihua Medical Science Secondary Specialised School, there are memorials of Kotnis in both Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, and Tangxian county where he once worked.
• Since the founding of the Shijiazhuang Ke Dihua Medical Science Secondary Specialised School in 1992 more than 45,000 medical professionals have graduated from it. Each of the new students and staff must swear in front of a stone statue of Kotnis that they would work like him.
• In India, his story was made famous by the 1946 film, Dr. Kotnis ki Amar Kahani by V. Shantharam.

About Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis

• He hailed from Sholapur in Maharashtra came to China in 1938 as part of a five- member team of doctors sent by the Indian National Congress to help the Chinese during World War II.
• He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1942 and died the same year at the age of 32.
• Kotnis’ medical assistance during the difficult days of the Chinese revolution was praised by Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

A revered personality in China

• Late Chinese leader Mao Zedong was deeply affected by his death.
• Mao wrote in his eulogy that “the army has lost a helping hand, the nation has lost a friend. Let us always bear in mind his internationalist spirit”.
• Kotnis is remembered not only as a symbol inspiring medical students to work hard, but also an eternal bond between the people of China and India.