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The government has received a total of 236 solutions under 'Swachhata Startup Challenge' which was launched by the Ministry of Urban Affairs in collaboration with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to promote an enabling environment for development startups and entrepreneurs in the waste management sector.

Officials said that a total of 236 solutions across four themes including social inclusion, zero dump (solid waste management), plastic waste management and transparency through digital enablement were received, of which 30 solutions have been shortlisted.

Out of the shortlisted solutions the final list of 10 winners will be chosen by a jury. Winning entries under the Challenge will be rewarded with seed funding of Rs 25 lakhs per project along with one year of dedicated incubation support.

The Swachh Technology Challenge was launched by the Ministry of Urban affairs on December 6, 2021, as part of Swachh Survekshan 2022. To further incentivise the start-up ecosystem, the ministry also launched a Swachhta Start-Up Challenge as next step to the Swachh Technology Challenge on 27th January 2022.

Provisions have been made under Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 guidelines to encourage adoption of locally innovated, cost-effective technology solutions and business models in sanitation and solid waste management by startups, through investment in Research & Design (R&D) and facilitation in Government e-Market (GeM) portal, in order to take forward the government's vision of an "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" and "Make in India".

As a technological tool promoting cleanliness, Swachhata App has emerged as an important tool towards enabling citizens to have their grievances addressed by the concerned Municipal Corporation. The revised version enables citizens to get their Covid-related complaints also redressed by their respective urban local bodies (ULBs). The Swachhata App has a total of 2.08 crore users from all across the country.