WhatsApp will give Rs 1.8 crores to new Indian startups, Here is all you need to know

The "Startup India WhatsApp Grand Challenge" has been appraise growth in the entrepreneurial sector. Total prize money of Rs 1.8 crore is up for grabs.

Key Points:

• The competition carries a total prize amount of Rs 1.8 crore for top 5 winners.
• The competition invites ideas in various sectors such as healthcare, rural, economy, financial and more.
• Registrations for the contest will be opened till March 10, 2019.

• Over the last few years, WhatsApp has come across as more than just a messenger in India. The platform has been responsible for providing a local social network in the form of WhatsApp groups. 
• The app has also been a platform to several growing businesses as well as help fuel new startups. To help with that, the company launched WhatsApp for Business that offered more business tools to aid startups as well as entrepreneurs. Now, the company has come with content that will help boost the entrepreneurial sector in India.

• WhatsApp has launched the "Startup India WhatsApp Grand Challenge" in India. The contest has been organized to fuel growth in India's startup as well as the entrepreneurial sector. 

• The competition carries a total prize amount of Rs 1.8 crore for top 5 winners.
• The competition is open to all entrepreneurs and invites ideas in various sectors such as healthcare, rural, economy, financial and digital inclusion, education and citizen safety.

"Entrepreneurs with highly innovative ideas, business models that solve for a local India problem, making a large scale socio-economic impact, are invited to apply," WhatsApp said in a media release.
Registrations for the contest will be opened till March 10, 2019. 
The process for the selection has been listed below:

1. The applications will be evaluated by an independent evaluation committee.
2. Out of the selected ones, the 30 best ideas will be shortlisted for the subsequent round and on to 10 in the following round.
3. The final 10 selected ideas will be invited to participate in the final round of the grand finale.
4. At the end, the five winning ideas will receive a monetary prize of $50,000 (approximately Rs 35.6 lakhs) on May 24.

According to data provided by WhatsApp, the messenger platform has been known to help around 84 per cent of small and mid-tier businesses communicate in their field. Additionally, around 80 per cent of such businesses have found WhatsApp to help them grow.

 

WhatsApp struggles to protect us from fake news

The government has taken note of reports about spread of fake news, misinformation or disinformation on the Internet, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said.

 

New Delhi:

• In the wake of the spread of fake news, the centre has directed the messaging platform WhatsApp to come out with effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate enforcement of law against dissemination of wrong information.

• Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said in Lok Sabha that the government has taken note of reports about spread of fake news, misinformation or disinformation on the Internet, particularly using WhatsApp platform.

• "Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued notices to WhatsApp conveying that they need to come out with effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate enforcement of law in addition to labelling forwards and weeding out fake news," he said in a written reply to a question.

• Mr Ahir said WhatsApp has conveyed that a number of steps have been taken by it to address the issue of fake news propagated using the platform.

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"Meetings with law enforcement agencies and intermediaries are held on regular basis to strengthen the coordination framework for better enforcement of the law," he said.