Bharat Startup Challenge 2025: Big Opportunity for Climate Innovators

In a major boost for India’s clean-tech ecosystem, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in collaboration with ITC Limited, has launched the Bharat Startup Grand Challenge—a national hunt for cutting-edge micro wind energy solutions.

The challenge opens the door for early-stage and growth-stage startups to co-create the future of rooftop renewable energy with one of India’s largest conglomerates. It’s a call to action for entrepreneurs working at the intersection of climate innovation, engineering, and green tech.

India’s Next Cleantech Unicorn? DPIIT & ITC Announce Micro Wind Startup Challenge

Startups are invited to design smart, rooftop-mountable, and cost-efficient micro wind energy technologies that can be deployed across industrial and commercial sites. The focus is on solutions that can thrive in urban or semi-urban setups—areas where large-scale wind farms aren’t feasible, but demand for clean power is rising.

What's in it for Startups?

Two winning startups will get access to:

🔹 Mentorship from ITC’s energy and engineering leaders
🔹 A fully funded pilot at one of ITC’s factory locations
🔹 A scale-up opportunity across 10+ ITC industrial sites
🔹 A national platform to showcase their product under Startup India

Deadline to apply: August 14, 2025

Click This to Apply for Bharat Startup Grand Challenge

This is more than just a pitch competition—it's a springboard to scale, backed by one of India’s most trusted corporations.

Meet the Innovation Partners

ITC Limited—a 100+ year old powerhouse headquartered in Kolkata—is known not only for iconic brands like Aashirvaad, Savlon, Bingo!, Fiama, and Classmate, but also for its deep-rooted commitment to sustainability. With over 60 manufacturing locations and a distribution network touching 6 million+ retail outlets, ITC offers startups an unparalleled platform for testing and scaling their solutions.

Partnering with DPIIT, the driving force behind Startup India, ITC is channeling its infrastructure and industry know-how into building India’s green future—starting at the grassroots, powered by innovation.

Why It Matters

India is rapidly advancing in solar energy, but micro wind remains an untapped frontier—especially in urban settings where traditional wind turbines are impractical. By launching this sector-specific challenge, DPIIT and ITC are catalyzing homegrown solutions for decentralized, renewable energy generation.

This initiative represents a perfect storm of:

• Government policy support
• Corporate infrastructure & mentorship
• A national platform for startup acceleration
• India’s climate and energy goals coming to life through innovation

Startups, This Is Your Moment!

A game-changing opportunity for startups building smart, scalable, and sustainable energy solutions. So if you're building clean energy hardware, turbine tech, IoT-powered wind solutions, or compact rooftop generators—this is your runway to real-world deployment and scale.