The opening of entries for the DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) for 2016 was announced at the New Delhi Technology Expo on December 11, 2015. The programme will enter its landmark 10th year.

Several winners of the India IIGP showcased their technologies at the New Delhi Technology Expo. Some of the technologies showcased were MiraCradle developed by Delhi-based Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Neonate Cooler which is non-electronic affordable passive cooling device that uses the advanced phase change material technology to cool babies suffering from asphyxia and costs only one-tenth of the present devices. Another technology displayed was New Leaf Dynamic Technologies ‘GreenCHILL’, an off-grid, compressor-less and renewable energy powered refrigeration system. It does not require grid power or diesel generator backup to do cooling. GreenCHILL uses only 40 litres of hot water to cool 1,000 litres milk and 10 tonnes of fruits, vegetables or any other horticultural produce. Leaf wearables also showcased a wearable safety device (SAFER) that sends signal to alert, police, family and friends. The USP of the innovation is that it works on three-tier redundancy model, i.e. Internet, SMS and even when there is no network connection on SOS.

Over 70 Business Engagement Agreements were signed between innovators and leading industry partners and prominent names like Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Health Care at Home—a unit of Dabur India, Century Denim, Surya Roshni, Tata Housing & Hiranandani Developers, Mumbai. 20 winners from the current year were given cash awards of Rs. 1,00,000 each.

The IIGP has provided a platform for nurturing innovation in the country, as seen in the rapid rise of applications—receiving a total number of 6,124 since its inception. The IIGP focuses on a ‘Mind to Market’ strategy by offering extensive training modules that are suitably structured to help participants gauge and streamline their existing capabilities, as well as formulate and implement appropriate business strategies. With its emphasis on capacity building and technology commercialisation, IIGP has helped several participants in their quest to find suitable business partners in India as well as internationally. This has resulted in 400 plus business engagement agreements being signed between innovators and industry partners/investors. The total revenue generated by the participating companies under the programme is $860 million.

Since the inception of IIGP, there are several innovators who are not only able to commercialise their technology but have also generated exports. In the period between 2013 to 2015, the total export turnover of the innovators was Rs. 181 crore.