To Encourage Investors, Infosys Announce 'Maker Awards' in India

By siliconindia | Monday, 15 February 2016, 09:35 Hrs

BENGALURU: Infosys today announced the launch of the Infy Maker Awards in India to inspire the creative spirit of 'making', encouraging citizens to create, reports ET. The award was started off in the U.S. last year and now in India.Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services.

Called Maker Awards – India, it has come out with a corpus of 1 Cr as prize money for winners. This will be distributed across 20 teams who will be shortlisted by a panel of judges representing technology, academia and the community. The award was started off in the U.S. last year and now comes to India.

Last year Infosys had announced $250 Million ‘Innovate in India Fund’ to Support Indian Start-ups. The IT giant has made a strong move in the direction of investments after Vishal, former member of SAP AG executive board, took over as CEO and MD in July 2014, making headlines for being the first non-founder to head the 34-year old company.

Sharing the excitement at the launch of these awards in India, VandanaSikka, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation USA said, "We are thrilled that Infy Makers is going global and will help awaken a spirit of making in India and inspire the next generation of inventors! After all, the future is, and has always been, shaped by those who make." Following the success of these awards in the U.S., the Infy Maker Awards are going global with their foray into India as part of the Make in India Week organized by the government. Through these awards, Infosys will recognize and reward deserving makers in India whose ideas and solutions have potential to solve real world problems.

‘Make in India’ is no longer just a buzzword but a reality, which is being driven by the concerted effort of government, public, and private players. However, the key to success of Make in India, which aims at making India a global manufacturing hub with state-of-the-art R&D facilities, is innovation. The government and private sector needs to look at creating a conductive eco-system for innovation to thrive and prosper in India.