Swachhata Startup Conclave

Why is in news? MoHUA set to provide fillip to Indian startups in the sanitation and waste management sector

• The Swachhata Startup Conclave is being organized as part of the Swachh Amrit Mohotsav being conducted by MoHUA, from 17th September 2022 to 2nd October 2022.
• India’s position as the 3rd largest startup eco-system in the world is set to get a further boost, with Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) preparing to provide an array of funding and incubation support to Startups to strengthen the sanitation and waste management sector.
• On 20th September 2022, MoHUA will be felicitating these 30 startups at a conclave to be held at the Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.
• It is conducted on account of celebrating eight years of accomplishments of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, and as a run up to the first anniversary of SBM Urban 2.0 to be celebrated on 1st October 2022
• The Conclave is expected to see participation of nearly 600 attendees, including from leading startups and unicorns in the field, city administrators, investors, academia, government bodies and industries, sector partners, industry experts, representatives from DPIIT, Govt. of India, FICCI, CII, and other associations.
• The Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban being implemented by MoHUA provides special focus to innovation and encouragement for startups in a bid to adopt locally innovated, implementable solutions and business models and promote circularity in waste management.
• MoHUA had launched a Swachhata Startup Challenge under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, from January 2022 onwards, in partnership with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the DPIIT (Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade).
• The Challenge aimed to harness the entrepreneurial potential of the waste management sector in India and promote an enabling environment for enterprise development.
• The Startup Challenge had sought entries from organisations in the Sanitation and waste management sector, across four categories, viz. (i) social inclusion, (ii) zero dump, (iii)plastic waste management and (iv) transparency through digital enablement.