{
  "id": 16867710,
  "title": "Government working to utilise procurement process for promoting startups: DPIIT Secretary",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/government-working-to-utilise-procurement-process-for-promoting",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-28T07:24:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "YourStory",
    "slug": "yourstory",
    "url": "https://yourstory.com/2026/10/govt-working-utilise-procurement-process-promoting-startups-dpiit-secretary"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is exploring the use of procurement processes to support and promote startups, according to Amardeep Singh Bhatia, the Secretary of DPIIT. Speaking at the launch of the National Startup Awards 6.0, Bhatia emphasized the necessity for additional private sector involvement to incorporate startups into supply chains. He also mentioned ongoing collaboration with various agencies to optimize the use of government procurement for startups, particularly by offering them early access to demand.\n\nDPIIT Additional Secretary Ateesh Kumar Singh provided further details, stating that existing provisions such as relaxations under General Financial Rules and specific circulars issued by different agencies aim to facilitate startups' entry into the government procurement process. However, he acknowledged that leveraging these benefits still poses challenges, primarily due to information asymmetry. Singh highlighted that efforts are underway to address these issues and streamline the existing system, working alongside ministries like the Department of Finance, Public Enterprises, and MSME.\n\nSingh noted that the startup ecosystem in India has expanded to over 2.5 lakh startups, with more than half based in tier 3 and smaller towns. Under the 6th edition of the National Startup Awards, winning startups across 20 sectoral categories and two special categories will be eligible for a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh per category, contingent upon the award guidelines. The awards also include a student innovator and aspiring entrepreneur award with a total prize pool of Rs 25 lakh across four sub-categories. Beyond monetary rewards, the National Startup Awards aim to provide startups with mentorship, investor engagement, market access, industry partnerships, and greater visibility within the Indian startup ecosystem. The awards will encompass 20 categories, including three special categories for women-led startups, those from the northeastern region, and student innovators or aspiring entrepreneurs.",
  "summary": "Elaborating on the move to enhance participation of startups in government procurement, DPIIT Additional Secretary Ateesh Kumar Singh said that there are already certain facilities available in the form of relaxations to the GFR (General Financial Rules).",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}