Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 30: Taking a significant step towards this vision, Startup Odisha, under the Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, officially launched the Odisha Seva First Innovation Challenge (OSFIC) at the Conference Hall, Startup Odisha, O-Hub, Bhubaneswar.
Designed to foster innovation, entrepreneurship and service-oriented problem-solving, OSFIC aims to provide a platform for people across Odisha to develop practical solutions to real-world challenges and contribute to the state’s socio-economic development.
The launch event brought together ministers, policymakers, industry representatives and key stakeholders from Odisha’s Startup and innovation ecosystem.
Gracing the occasion, MSME Minister Gokulananda Mallik said that through this initiative innovative ideas and solutions will come which will definitely help to achieve a significant milestone in the field of innovation and start up ecosystem.
He called upon students and youth to pursue their unique interests and passions, assuring that the Odisha government would facilitate aspiring innovators in creating meaningful solutions.
He emphasised the need to promote incubation and nurture more ideas, enabling youth to move from job seekers to job creators.
Minister Sampad Chandra Swain, Minister of Industries and Skill Development & Technical Education, said, “Innovation is not something that is born only in big laboratories. Innovation can take birth in the soil of a village, through a farmer’s experience, in the hands of an artisan, in the imagination of a student, or through the creativity of women.”
“The success of development becomes truly meaningful only when the life of a common citizen becomes easier. This ideology forms the foundational basis of OSFIC. Service shall be our resolve. Innovation shall be our strength. Skill excellence shall be our identity. A prosperous Odisha shall be our goal,” he said.
Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra urged people to channel innovation towards seva and nation-building, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said that the Department had prepared a blueprint for development in areas such as biotechnology and AI through a special Odisha Innovation Mission.
MSME Secretary and Startup Odisha Chairperson Rashmita Panda outlined the strategic vision behind OSFIC and its potential to strengthen Odisha’s position as a leading startup and innovation hub.
The event also featured the unveiling of the official OSFIC web portal. Startup Odisha signed strategic MoUs with AIIMS Bhubaneswar, World Skill Centre and ASSOCHAM, and distributed One-time Capital Grants to leading incubators—ACURATE, NIST, CIPET and SOA.
The Odisha Seva First Innovation Challenge is designed to encourage the development of scalable, service-oriented innovations that address real-world challenges while contributing to the socio-economic development of the state.
Designed as a statewide launchpad for innovation and creativity, OSFIC aims to engage over one lakh participants across three categories, students, youth and grassroots innovation talents, and provide them with a platform to transform ideas into actionable solutions.
Students from schools, universities and technical institutions, along with startups and MSMEs, artisans and farmers, women SHGs, senior citizens, NCC and NSS units, and other eligible participants can take part in the challenge and contribute to Odisha’s development journey. Interested participants can register for the challenge at osfis.startupodisha.org/register.
The initiative will provide a statewide platform for identifying and nurturing promising ideas, culminating in a grand finale with financial rewards for the winners.
