In a novel initiative by the Ministry of  Petroleum & Natural Gas, 10 oil and gas companies under it unveiled a Start-up  programme on 25 October 2017 for entrepreneurs with a fund corpus  of Rs 320 crore to be disbursed over a 3-year period to support innovations in  the energy sector.

“The people we are partnering today will  establish new benchmarks for India. We have to go for out of the box thinking  and disruptive frameworks,” Hon’ble minister said at the launch event.

Honourable Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas delivering his keynote address

The scheme was launched with Memoranda  of Understanding (MoU) being signed by the oil PSUs for partnering with various  Start-Ups.

ONGC had earlier announced Rs. 100 crore  Start-up fund to foster, nurture and incubate new ideas related to energy  sector. ONGC received an overwhelming response with over 2500 applicants  registering on ONGC Start-up website.

After several rounds of screening, ONGC  selected five Start-Ups namely M/s Red Ginger Technologies Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon;  M/s Planys Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Chennai; M/s Detect Technologies Pvt. Ltd,  Chennai; M/s String Bio Pvt Ltd, Bangalore & Chakra Innovation Pvt. Ltd,  Delhi based on pre-approved evaluation criteria and due approvals.

Laying the foundation stone for the  first round of ONGC’s venture into the world of start-up funding, CMD ONGC  exchanged MoUs with the CEOs of the five Start-ups in the presence of Honourable  Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas at the event, expressing ONGC’s  commitment towards supporting a new generation of Entrepreneurs in advancement  of Technological Innovation.

CMD exchanging MoU with Mr Tanu Jhunjhunwala, CEO, M/s Planys Technologies Pvt Ltd

CMD exchanging MoU with Mr Rahul Gupta, CEO, M/s Red Ginger Technologies Pvt Ltd

CMD ONGC conveyed that the signing of  MoUs is the beginning of a partnership with young Entrepreneurs for facilitating  disruptions in the Energy Sector in India.