Ongoing efforts by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) to encourage the production of socially beneficial products have got a fresh fillip and recognition, as the Union Government has joined hands with Google to mobilise engineering students for innovative solutions.

The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Google India have tied up under a six-month programme that features learning and mentorship activities.

The programme, christened ‘Build for Digital India’, will see Google providing mentorship by its officials as well as other experts, said Siddhant Agarwal, Programme Coordinator, Google Developer Relations at the KSUM-organised IEDC (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre) Summit held at Kodakara near Thrissur.

Agarwal noted that India has a good number of nascent firms that provide solutions for problems related to society at a large. He particularly lauded startups such Genrobotics that make the popular Spandan robotic scavenger (which can detect cardiac problems in advance) and the breast cancer-screening device called NIRAMAI besides AIR-INK that makes ink from gaseous effluents generated by air pollution due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.

Earlier in his inaugural address, KSUM Chief Executive Saji Gopinath said that entrepreneurship is in itself primarily driven by people’s knowledge and passion for innovation. The major secret behind the success of entrepreneurship such as Facebook and Amazon is that they addressed the hidden problem that had been there for years.