MUMBAI: India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), on 4 March, gave a primary in-principle approval for a government-made reality show on the terms of American TV show Shark Tank so as to give a fillip to the startup culture.
The DIPP may allow public voting so as to decide the ‘Most Popular Startup', the Indian Express reported. At a 9 November 2016 meeting, it was also decided that 60 finalists will be given a reward of Rs 10 lakhs each.
Shark Tank is a popular American show features a panel of potential investors called 'sharks' who consider offers from aspiring entrepreneurs seeking investments.
The programme, to be simultaneously broadcast on the pubcaster Doordarshan, radio and digital platforms, would have startups pitch to an investors' panel for impromptu investments.
The DIPP plans to partner with a TV production house to oversee the implementation, production and execution of the TV show. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) may be the coordinating agency for managing daily operations.
The first round of evaluation is set to take place in seven cities -- Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Bangalore, Indore and Guwahati. In all, 440 participants would be selected, of which 35 would be declared as “regional winners”. These winners would further proceed to the second round of evaluation or the “grand finale”.
DIPP secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that the department is facing finance issues. NASSCOM told the government the show would require a budget of Rs 64 crore. While Rs 34 crore may be raised from states and sponsors, the DIPP would have to invest approx Rs 30 crore from their side.
The show will be simultaneously aired across a number of platforms to “allow greater reach and connect with both the urban and rural audience across different sections of the society”.
While the DIPP will have complete rights over the programme, NASSCOM may 'managing' day-to-day operations. "For implementation, a task force will be constituted with a partner leading in each region, who will be responsible for the execution of the entire show. This will include running day to day operations and for management of all deliverables, timelines, agencies and interfacing regularly with all sponsors and partners in each of the regions,” the DIPP note says.
The proposed partners for north, east, west, south and central regions are -- FICCI, The Indus Partners (TiE), Indian Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks and Business Incubator Association (ISBA), NASSCOM, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), respectively.
A steering committee to oversee the programme management would include representatives from NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the HRD Ministry, and Department of Biotechnology, as well as Axis Bank and Yes Bank.
