Looking for an Idea for Your Startup ?

Here are some problems India is facing, think of a solution to them. You can identify some problems of your own too.

Idea No 1 : Prevent Food Waste in India

Idea No 2 : Cleaner Railways

Idea No 3 : Quality Education

Idea No 4 : Making India a Disable Friendly Nation

Prevent Food Waste In India Cleaner Railways Quality Education Making India A Disable Friendly Nation Sports Reform & Accountable Governance - Next Olympian Challenge Traffic Management Crop Insurance Pollution Control Transport Infrastructure Mosquito Diseases Women Safety Waste Management Crime Control Water Resources Hygiene Education & Literacy Financial Inclusion Skilled Workforce/Labor Department Inefficient Public Distribution System Epidemic Management Superstition Energy Crisis Animal Welfare

Idea No 1 : Prevent Food Waste in India

What is the problem?

Food waste or food loss is that which is left uneaten or discarded. Indians waste food worth INR 88,800 crore per year, which is equivalent to INR 244 crore being wasted daily. Even after producing more food than it needs, 194 million people go hungry in India every day and as a result India ranks a disappointing 103 among 119 countries in Global Hunger Index. This wastage has a knock-on effect on the environment, as the efforts made to produce this generates greenhouse gases, uses water, and can lead to deforestation.

What is the government doing?

The Indian government is making efforts to curb the wastage of food by setting up new storage facilities, making distribution more efficient, and distributing excess grains.

What can you do?

Some of the avenues that can be explored are educating farmers on good storage practices, providing transportation and storage facilities, re-distributing leftover food from parties and events, and setting up compost plants.

How will your ideas help?

Solutions to reduce or remove this problem will solve a multitude of problems for our country including widespread malnutrition, hunger, deforestation, and groundwater depletion.

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Idea No 2 : Cleaner Railways

What is the problem?

The Indian Railways is the fourth largest railway network in the world and carries over 23 million passengers every day. However, it is also rife with problems such as unhygienic platforms and coaches, rodent-infested pantry, and malfunctioning washrooms. This has been a major cause of concern as it makes the journey uncomfortable for the passengers and increases the chances of illness.

What is the government doing?

The government has started a plethora of initiatives such as providing On Board HouseKeeping Service (OBHS) in nearly 980 trains for cleaning of coaches during the run of the trains; on demand ‘Clean My Coach’ service, where passengers can request for cleaning services through a mobile apps; washing of bed linen provided for AC passengers is done after every single use, while blankets were being cleaned every two months.

What can you do?

Some avenues that can be explored are web-based solutions to track hygiene standards maintained at platforms, toilets that process human waste, advanced food storage systems to keep rodents and pests in check.

How will your ideas help?

Devising methods, technologies, and resources to ensure a cleaner rail network in India will provide an essential solution for millions of Indians using the Railways daily

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Railways

Idea No 3 : Quality Education

What is the problem?

Quality education and an employable workforce are critical for a rapidly developing country such as India. However, maintaining standard of education in more than a million schools nationwide, offering training programs to teachers, and keeping good balance with education system worldwide has been a big challenge for the Indian government. This problem is visible from the fact that about 25 per cent of Indian students in the age group of 14-18 years cannot read basic text fluently in their own language, and more than half face challenges in performing basic arithmetic. [1]This is a dismal state of affairs as nearly a quarter of India's population is of school/college going age

What is the government doing?

The Indian government has taken a number of steps to address this problem. Initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan seek to address the issue of school infrastructure, teacher quality and training, and filling vacancies; government budget allocated for quality education has been increased three-fold under the Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan; and Global Initiative for Academic Network has been launched with the aim to internationalize education and bring renowned professors from global universities to India[2] .

What can you do?

Some avenues that can be explored are social enterprises that focus on bringing more students under the formal education set-up, awarding meritorious students, developing interactive methods of teaching through internet and mobile, and brining out programs that explain concepts in vernacular languages to students for better understanding .

How will your ideas help?

Solutions to provide quality education to Indian students in the most economical and holistic way will play a key role in driving the economic engine of India. These solutions will play a key role in determining whether India’s demographic situation will be an asset or a liability for the country.

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Human Resource Development; Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

Idea No 4 : Making India a Disable Friendly Nation

What is the problem?

India has around 80 million people with disability. According to the Word Bank, one in every 12 households in India has a person living with disability.[1] This means that a significant proportion of India’s citizen are disabled and the persistent issue is that disabled population are an excluded section of the society. They face a number of problems in their daily life such as lack of accessibility to most buildings, lack of appropriate healthcare services, un-inclusive educational system, and general discrimination and stigmatisation

What is the government doing?

From introducing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in 2016 to address some of the concerns faced by differently-abled persons in India to the Prime Minister rolling out Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan in 2015,[2] with a motive to make it convenient for persons with disabilities to access administrative buildings and transport facilities; the Indian government has made efforts to improve on this front

What can you do?

Some avenues that can be explored are design solutions that assist disabled people in accessing buildings and transport facilities; tech solutions that help in their inclusion in work places and society; and general sensitization initiatives

How will your ideas help?

Solutions and initiatives to uplift societal status of disabled people and ease their daily life have huge potential in India. They will not only assist in uplifting the stigma surrounding disabled people but also help them become productive members of the society and contribute to the economic growth of the country

Concerned Ministries: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Idea No 5 : Sports Reform & Accountable Governance - Next Olympian Challenge

What is the problem?

World's second most populous nation has the worst Olympic record in terms of medals per head and a number of smaller countries with limited talent pools to choose from, outperform India regularly at the Olympics. [1]India is unable to produce a steady stream of world-class talent that can bring medals at the world stage. The problem is not a dearth of talent but systematic failures that are responsible for India’s historic poor performance at the Olympics; the major ones being lack of proper infrastructure, paucity of funding, politization of sports, and the lack of emphasis given to sports culturally

What is the government doing?

The government has started a number of initiatives to promote sports and sportspersons in India. Khelo India aims to encourage the participation on school students in sports while Target Olympic Podium Scheme assists elite sports professionals who are capable of bringing Olympic glory for the country[2]

What can you do?

Some avenues that can be explored are technology and scientific expertise to improve the performance of athletes, initiatives to provide talented youngsters a platform to come in the limelight, and developing means to better meet the nutritional needs of athletes

How will your ideas help?

Sports has the power of bringing positive transformation in the society. Solutions and ideas to overcome this challenge of engaging young children in sports and providing right infrastructure and quality training from the start has huge potential in our medal-starved nation. An impressive performance in the Olympics will lead to increasing awareness about sports in our country, which in turn will lead to the rapid growth of the sports and nutrition industry in India .

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

Idea No- 6 : Traffic Management

What is the problem?

India has the second-largest road network in the world.[1] The number of cars sold in the country is increasing day by day and so is the congestion and instances of road rage. Traffic congestion in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata during peak hours cost the Indian economy INR 1.47 lakh crores [2]annually and this number is projected to increase in the future unless relevant measures are undertaken. There is a pressing need to come up with methods and solutions to handle the increasing traffic in India, especially in the metros along with improving the discipline and driving conditions prevalent What is the government doing? The government has undertaken a number of initiatives such as constructing 599 highway projects across the country under the Smart Cities Program, a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020[3], which proposes to incentivize adoption of green vehicles, and an AI-based traffic management system being adopted by the Delhi Police What can you do? Some avenues that can be explored are developing tech-enabled solutions that can manage the flow of traffic efficiently, identify and track traffic violations, and understand the pain points of the current road network.

How will your ideas help?

Solutions and ideas to de-congest roads and better manage the traffic flow has the potential to not only increase the productivity of the Indian workforce but to also save significant economic and social costs for the Indian economy

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Idea NO- 7 : CoRp Insurance

What is the problem?

In a country like India, where a significant proportion of the population is engaged in agriculture; adoption of crop insurance is extremely important. However, this is not case for India as despite having approximately 52 per cent of the gross cropped area rain fed, agricultural insurance mechanism in India is very weak.[1] This lack of adoption of crop insurance in India and the unpredictable nature of monsoons has led to major issues such as farmer suicides .

What is the government doing?

The government has introduced a number of schemes and measures to help farmers with crop insurance; the most notable being Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana[2]. This scheme aims to bring more farmers under the protection of crop insurance and help them get back on their feet in case crops fail.

What can you do?

Avenues that can be explored include forming self-help groups or organizations that provide crop insurances to farmers at minimal premiums, initiatives to educate farmers about the benefits of crop insurances and how to find a credible crop insurance company along with tech solutions to improve the agricultural life cycle.

How will your ideas help?

Solutions and ideas to bring crop insurance to more farmers will play a pivotal role in making agriculture an attractive sector once again, increase the output and productivity of farmlands, and most importantly help stem farmer suicides.

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers; Ministry of Finance

IDEA NO 8 : Pollution Control

What is the problem?
Rising air pollution is a menace for India, with multiple Indian cities regularly making it to the Top-10 most polluted cities in the World list. India is also struggling with widespread pollution of its water bodies, case in point being Yamuna river. This is leading to a rapid increase in the number of chronic diseases across the country, the younger demographic being the ones most adversely affected.

What is the government doing?

In recent years, the Government has taken a number of steps to fight the rising pollution problem. The National Clean Air Programme has been launched in conjunction with state governments to come up with specific targets along with setting-up of a comprehensive action plan by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

What can you do?

The avenues that can be explored are solutions easing the adoption of electric vehicles, ideas to enhance manufacturing processes and water filtration process.

How will your ideas help?

Solutions to effectively tackle the problem of pollution will help combat one of the most pressing problems facing the country along with helping increase the economic output and providing employment opportunities

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

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IDEA NO 9 : Transport Infrastructure

What is the problem?

Even though India has the second-largest road network and India has the world's largest rail network in terms of passenger traffic, majority of it is not well-maintained and leads to sub-par utilization of the available resources. Moreover, poor public transport infrastructure compounds this problem and causes traffic congestion

What is the government doing?

Government has launched new schemes to improve the transport infrastructure in India. Schemes such as Bharatmala Pariyojana aim to optimize efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps and through development on new highways

What can you do?

Avenues that can be explored are solutions that make the railways and roadways more efficient and better maintained, making air travel more accessible, and implementing global best practices in transport infrastructure.

How will your ideas help?

Solutions that improve the transport infrastructure in India at a rapid pace are critical as will enable India’s economic growth to not only continue but even increase in the future.

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Railways; Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; Ministry of Civil Aviation; Ministry of Shipping

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IDEA NO 10 : Mosquito Diseases

What is the problem?

Vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, zika virus, swine flu, chikungunya, and nipah are on the rise. Mosquitoes are responsible for causing around 725,000 human deaths every year and are found on every continent on the earth except for Antarctica. This makes them a menace and tough to control

What is the government doing?

The government has undertaken a slew of initiatives to eradicate vector-borne diseases from India including fogging, providing mosquito nets and repellents free of cost, launching awareness programs, and providing vaccinations and medicines.

What can you do?

Some avenues that can be explored are developing smart traps, efficient mosquito repellents, biological variations that can reduce the mosquito populations in problematic areas.

How will your ideas help?

Vector-borne diseases are responsible for significant number of deaths every year and have a significant impact on the healthy population of the country causing financial loss. Innovative solutions that can tackle this efficiently and effectively will be major step towards reducing the incidence of diseases in India.

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

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IDEA NO 11 : Women Safety

What is the problem?

Women safety is a big challenge in India. A report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation has ranked India as the most dangerous country for women, ahead of warn-torn countries like Afghanistan and Syria. In India there are four rape cases every hour and this trend has not shown a downward trajectory in the last couple of years, making it a pressing issue

What is the government doing?

The Indian government has launched several Initiatives to tackle the problem of women’s safety in the country and introduce a shift in general mindset of the people. Initiatives such as One Stop Centre Scheme that provide shelter, police desk, legal, medical, and counselling services to victims of violence under one roof and the Working Women Hostels encourage women to join the formal workforce by providing them safe and conveniently located accommodations

What can you do?

Some avenues that can be explored are safety measures such as wearables that can inform the authorities or nearby people in case of an emergency, devices or applications that can identify or track the aggressors, and initiatives that sensitize people towards the issue of women’s safety.

How will your ideas help?

There is a pressing need for ideas, solutions, methods that work towards women’s safety as this will not only allow the women to live without fear but also help unleash the potential that women have. This will not only help women when faced with such challenges but also transform the mindset of people in general

Concerned Ministries - Ministry of Women and Child Development; Ministry of Law and Justice; Ministry of Home Affairs