Call for Applications: GAIL Start-Up Initiative ‘Pankh’ (India)

GAIL plans to invest in Start-Ups operating in the focus areas. A new Round has been opened by GAIL for Solicitation of Investment Proposals from Start-Ups operating specifically in the Focus Areas, which mainly includes natural gas, petrochemicals ,energy, project management, bio-manure marketing, Nano materials, IoT, data mining, environment, health and social.

Proposals are now solicited from Start-Ups operating in the Focus Areas.

Focus Areas

• Core Areas:
  • Natural Gas
    • New applications of Natural Gas
    • City Gas Distribution
    • Natural Gas Storage
    • Gas Sourcing and optimization
    • Pipeline Operations and Maintenance
  • Petrochemicals
    • Polymer Product Optimization
    • Development of new polymer grades, catalysts and indigenization of existing catalysts
    • New Polymer applications
  • Energy
    • Energy efficiency/conservation in process plants/pipelines
    • Renewable and Alternate Energy sources(including Biogas & other Biofuels)
      • Energy trading
      • Energy Decentralization
      • Energy Storage
      • Energy sector related software products
  • Other areas related to energy sector
    • Project Management
    • Re-engineering of  processes
    • Nano materials
    • Internet -of-Things, Cyber Security, Data Mining and Analytics
    • Customer satisfaction
    • Water and Effluent Treatment, Desalination
      • Emerging Mobility (example- BEV, FCEV)
      • Automation and Robotics
• Non – Core Areas:
  • Health
    • Nutrition & Health
    • Techno-medical
    • Drinking water & Sanitation
  • Social
    • Education
    • Skill development
    • Rural development
    • Women empowerment
    • Care of elderly and differently abled
    • Agri-Tech
  • Environment
    • Pollution abatement
    • GHG reduction
    • CO2 conversion / utilization
    • Bio-Tech Startups
    • Nature Based Solutions
  • Security and Safety
  • Other emerging Start-up sectors
    • e-commerce
    • fintech
    • Internet of Things

Funding Information

• GAIL has created a corpus of Rs. 500 crore for its Start-Up Initiative.
• The Start-Ups that are interested in equity investment from GAIL can apply on their website. GAIL’s equity investment will be limited to 20% of the total equity of the Start-Up.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Start-Ups should be operating in any of the Focus Areas as mentioned in web portal under Tab’ Focus Areas’
• GAIL will consider Proposals for funding only from those entities that are registered as Start-Up by Department for Promotion of Industrial and Internal Trade (DPIIT) previously named as DIPP. Presently, the eligibility criteria is
• Up-to a period of ten years from the date of incorporation/ registration, if it is incorporated as a private limited company or registered as a partnership firm or a limited liability partnership in India.
• Turnover of the entity for any of the financial years since incorporation/ registration has not exceeded one hundred crore (100) rupees.
• Entity is working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation.
• Provided that any such entity formed by splitting up or reconstruction of a business already in existence shall not be considered a ‘Start-Up’. A proprietorship or a public limited company is not eligible as Start-Up.
• In addition, the following Eligibility Criteria should also be met: The Start-Up should not have been black-listed by any Government entity or any Incubation Centre. The Promoter(s) shall not have any criminal case pending in any Court of Law in India or abroad. A Declaration to this effect shall be required to be submitted in this respect.

Shortlisting Criteria

• The following Criteria is proposed to be used for Shortlisting of Start-Up proposals:
  • Founder(s) Background
  • Product/Service/Technology
  • Market Size, Growth Rate and Competitive Landscape
  • Technical Feasibility
  • Key Team Member’s Profile
  • Risks involved and Mitigation Plans
  • Potential Financial Returns
  • Scalability
  • Intellectual Property
  • Existing Investor Support

Evaluation Process

• GAIL shall evaluate the top rated shortlisted Proposals through a specially formed Committee for the purpose. The said Committee shall also have outside experts with the necessary domain expertise.
• The Committee shall discuss the Proposals with the Start-Ups for carrying out the evaluation. The Committee shall use the following broad criteria for evaluation:
  • Does the idea bring a unique proposition
  • Is the business model scalable and viable?
  • Target market identification
  • How is technology used to solve the problem? How difficult it is to replicate the product?
  • Founder and Team
  • Marketing and Distribution
  • Significant competitors in similar business
  • Start-Up financials (growth in valuation since inception till latest round)
  • Future road map of Start-Up
  • Primary risks involved in the business and the mitigation plan
  • Plan for use of GAIL’s funds
  • Exit scenario from the Start-Up
• The Committee will also discuss the milestones, payment terms, financing options etc. Thereafter the Committee shall submit its recommendations to GAIL.
• The Start-Up shall be required to sign an Investment Agreement before commencement of Funding by GAIL.

For more information, visit GAIL (India) Limited.