Sustainability Innovations & Eco-ventures: IIT-Madras CZC launched

CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras) Carbon Zero Challenge’s (CZC) next edition is focusing on ‘Resource Depletion and Pollution, ’ which has been accelerated by the crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

“CZC 2022, an all-India eco-innovation and entrepreneurship competition, aims to accelerate the lab-to-market transition of eco-innovations in India by funding innovations from proof-of-concept, lab-scale solutions to working prototypes or pilots,” a release from IIT-M on Wednesday said.

Shortlisted teams will get funding and mentorship support to establish start-ups and take their idea to the market through commercialisation.

In addition, CZC 2022 winners will get Rs 10 lakh as a start-up seed grant and continued support from IIT Madras such as access to IITM incubation resources.

Asia will have more than 1 billion vehicles by 2035 with as much as 80 percent of air pollution in Asia’s cities being attributable to the transport sector, according to reports by Asian Development Bank (ADB). Environmental degradation was costing India around US$ 80 billion annually, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.