<p>India and the US have launched a joint initiative to fund grass root innovators to solve developmental problems, particularly in the areas of providing basic education and ensuring food security.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The joint initiative - Millennium Alliance - will also test technologies developed in India for providing cheap and effective solutions that could be deployed in other developing countries, particularly in Africa.<br /><br />The focus sectors of the Alliance are basic education, water and sanitation, family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, agriculture and clean energy.<br />The Alliance will also leverage the rural innovations identified by the Honeybee Network of the National Innovation Foundation.<br /><br />It would fund innovators in two stages - the first tranche of upto Rs 50 lakh to demonstrate financial, administrative and technical viability followed by an award of upto Rs 3.75 crore for implementing a project at a sufficiently large scale to allow for rigorous impact testing. The funds will be provided in the form of a grant, debt or equity or a combination thereof. <br /></p>
<p>India and the US have launched a joint initiative to fund grass root innovators to solve developmental problems, particularly in the areas of providing basic education and ensuring food security.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The joint initiative - Millennium Alliance - will also test technologies developed in India for providing cheap and effective solutions that could be deployed in other developing countries, particularly in Africa.<br /><br />The focus sectors of the Alliance are basic education, water and sanitation, family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, agriculture and clean energy.<br />The Alliance will also leverage the rural innovations identified by the Honeybee Network of the National Innovation Foundation.<br /><br />It would fund innovators in two stages - the first tranche of upto Rs 50 lakh to demonstrate financial, administrative and technical viability followed by an award of upto Rs 3.75 crore for implementing a project at a sufficiently large scale to allow for rigorous impact testing. The funds will be provided in the form of a grant, debt or equity or a combination thereof. <br /></p>
