New Delhi: Delhi govt is launching a research and development exercise through a competition to encourage retrofitting innovations in line with Commission for Air Quality Management’s directive banning BS-IV heavy vehicles from entering the city starting Nov 1. The govt plans to award Rs 50 lakh to people or companies that develop effective technology to upgrade BS-IV trucks to BS-VI standards. It will also invest in research and innovation for converting diesel cars into electric vehicles. The initiatives aim to reduce pollution and support cleaner transportation solutions in Delhi, said environment minister Manjinder Sirsa.The selected projects will initially be given Rs 5 lakh, and the technology that qualifies for use and gets the certification from National Physical Laboratory will win Rs 50 lakh, Sirsa said, adding that the govt wants to encourage research and development and provide talented minds with a platform. He noted that currently, retrofitting cars into electric vehicles was a costly exercise. “If people come up with cheaper innovations, the govt is planning to consider them.” The managing director of NGO International Council on Clean Transportation, Amit Bhatt, said, “Retrofitting engines with after-treatment devices can be technically possible, but the associated costs could be high.”The govt will organise Industrial Ideathon 2025 in Aug, aiming to source innovative, student-led solutions to drive industrial growth in the city. Organised by Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation on behalf of the industries department, it is being co-hosted by Netaji Subhas University of Technology.Sirsa said the event was part of the govt’s mission to bring young innovators into the heart of industrial policymaking. “Ideathon reflects our government’s commitment to digital transformation, youth empowerment and inclusive entrepreneurship.”Open to over 120 interdisciplinary student teams from around 30 colleges and universities across Delhi, the competition will accept registrations from July 14 to Aug 4 on www.industrialideathondelhi.com. Teams of two-four students, at least one of them a woman, will participate. It invites solutions across four sectors—logistics and supply-chain management challenges, tech solutions for ease of doing business for startups and entrepreneurs, frontier technologies to revamp industrial ecosystem, and innovations to strengthen the micro, small and medium enterprises sector.
