The Karnataka government has reached out to startups and innovators to come up with technology-based ideas, products or solutions to fight Covid-19.

Following a public call for entries, the Startup Cell of the IT/BT department has received 260 applications from all of India and one from France. They are currently being screened and scored by jury members.

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“This comes under the grant challenge, but in this case, there’s no grant or funding,” Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, the IT/BT Minister, told DH.

“We will share the ideas with other departments and whoever wants can make use of them,” he said.

Karnataka, which prides on its startup and innovation ecosystem, is hoping to make the most of it to come up with solutions that can be deployed in the fight against the coronavirus. Bengaluru is estimated to have nearly 10,000 startups, mostly in the technology sector.

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According to sources, startups and innovators have proposed technology interventions in the areas of critical care equipment, crowd management solutions, wellness, e-learning, supply chain, large area sanitisation and so on. Sources also said that some of the ideas involved face-recognition technology and contactless treatment or diagnostics.

"Of the 260 applications, 160 have been scored by the jury members. Each application will be screened by two jury members on parameters such as innovation, feasibility, social impact, scalability among others,” an official from the Startup Cell said.

Karnataka has not been averse to using technology in its fight against Covid-19. For instance, the government is exploring the use of ‘remote monitoring’ technology with which doctors’ exposure to Covid-19 patients can be reduced. Also, the government has developed a data dashboard for Covid-19 (covid19.karnataka.gov.in) with the help of International Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru.

The government also invited technology professionals to volunteer for web/mobile development, data science, telecommunications and other areas. More than 120 professionals have applied. They will be given hourly/daily assignments requiring work from home. “We asked them a simple question: How will your skill help our fight against Covid-19? We have categorized the applicants and we’re consulting other departments on this,” the Startup Cell official said.