The Union government on Tuesday announced a contribution of $5 million for a joint initiative of the United States Agency for international Development (USAID) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to invest in innovations that could benefit vulnerable populations across the world.
Union Minister for Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh made the announcement after an interaction with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Called “Millennium Alliance: An India - U.S. Innovation Partnership for Global Development,” the partnership is designed to promote cost-effective and rigorously tested solutions for critical development challenges that have the potential for sustained global impact. The aim is to seek proposals from innovators in India who may have novel solutions that can be scaled to other countries in the core sectors of health, food security, climate change, energy and education.
The initiative was launched in December last with the FICCI and the USAID pledging to provide $7.5 million each and setting a goal to raise a total of $50 million, which will include contributions from corporations, foundations, other governments and donors.
