The India Nutrition Collaborative on Saturday announced the launch of the Poshan Innovation Platform (PIP) in partnership with the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India to strengthen nutrition delivery services. The aim is to improve the nutritional status of mothers and children under five years of age, at the last mile.
The platform will provide a collaborative space for educational institutions, start-ups, university incubators, civil society networks, and businesses in India to present ground-breaking innovations with proof of concept. It will facilitate mentorship, seed funding and investment opportunities to foster successful scaling of these innovations, stated an official statement.
The PIP is being hosted by the Catalyst 2030, India Nutrition Collaborative, a new and growing group of organisations and individuals from academia, businesses, government, and civil society, working in the area of ‘Good health and well-being, and zero hunger’. Supported by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India as the knowledge partner of the platform and other member organisations, including UNICEF India, the platform calls for innovations from across the country that have the potential to transform the nutritional status of nutritionally vulnerable mothers and under-five children at the last mile, the statement said.
Focussing on reducing the levels of stunting and wasting among young children, and anaemia in women of reproductive age group, the platform will call for innovations in areas of gender equity, digital equity, market equity, and promoting nutrition-seeking behaviour.
A jury comprising individuals from across sectors will select eight innovations from the pool of shortlisted innovations. Innovations that have a proof of concept with implementation and evidence around sustainability, impact and last-mile delivery will be eligible for financial support and mentoring through the PIP Grant Challenge Trust Fund amounting to ₹3 crore.
The innovations which are not eligible for the PIP Grant Challenge will be provided mentorship and peer learning programmes through the Poshan Innovators Network (PIN) to help fine tune them for the next cycle, according to the statement.
A diverse panel of mentors and partners comprising key leaders from academia, government, media and communications, the private sector and NGOs, will provide training to refine the winning innovations. After the completion of this refinement process, collaborative efforts will be initiated with grassroots organisations, Ministries and State governments to pilot the successful innovations at the district, State, and national levels. They will later be integrated into nutrition interventions at the ground level. Furthermore, the selected innovations will be scaled up through long-term funding from the corporate sector at the end of the 24-month cycle, the statement added.
