Patna: Bihar Industry Minister Nitish Mishra on Monday launched the portal for the Bihar Idea Festival, aiming to crowdsource at least 10,000 innovative ideas from students, youth, entrepreneurs, and start-up teams across the state. The minister said the initiative would unlock the hidden potential of every Bihari by identifying and giving direction to their ideas.
Speaking at the launch event held at Soochna Bhawan auditorium in Patna on Monday, Nitish described the portal as a milestone in fostering local innovation. The online platform, accessible via www.startupbihar.in, is mobile-friendly, enabling easy access for youth in villages and towns to submit their ideas.
According to Nitish, India has about 1,75,000 registered start-ups, with Bihar ranking third in the country. Over the past year, 1,000 new start-ups from the state have been selected under various schemes. The festival will begin with district-level workshops from July 24 and conclude with a two-day mega event in Patna in the last week of August. Ideas can be submitted until August 10, and winners will be announced at the end of the month.
Selected start-ups will receive funding of up to Rs 10 lakh under the Start-up Bihar Policy, along with trophies, advisory services, and state-level recognition. Nitish added that the initiative will also support thousands of women entrepreneurs through the Start-up Didi programme, similar to the state’s Jeevika model.
Mihir Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary of the Industry Department, said the festival aims to break the urban-centric start-up culture by engaging rural communities, artisans, farmers, and underprivileged groups. The event was attended by Director of Industries Mukul Gupta, Director of Handloom and Silk Nikhil Dhanraj Nippanikar, representatives from incubation centres, and various start-up founders.
