If your start up idea is quirky and innovative, here's how you can win Rs 2.5 million prize money

India is a nation that values engineers, scientists and inventors and has a proud tradition of incredible discoveries. Prime Minister Modi has encouraged India to “spot one hundred everyday problems in India” and to develop “technology that can reach the common man”. No wonder that India produces 1.5m engineering graduates each year, compared to 46,000 in the UK.

Just in case, your start up ideas is quirky and innovative like hygienic hand dryers, suspended lights, or purifying fans and it solves the problem of thousands of fellow human beings, you stand a chance to win Rs 2.5 million prize money.

The James Dyson Award is a way to encourage future engineers and help them turn their idea into a commercial success. Dyson, a British technology company based in Malmesbury, in the United Kingdom, has set a simple challenge: design something that solves a problem. Sir James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer at Dyson, chooses the international winner himself. While some solve problems in our daily lives – like improved domestic fire sprinkler systems or folding plugs, others tackle global issues, like food waste, overfishing and providing neonatal care in refugee camps. Last year’s winner was a folding, recyclable, paper helmet for use in bike share schemes. Elegantly simple but still effective, it offered a compelling solution to a tangible problem. The prize for the winner is Rs 2.5 million, to help them further develop their idea.

The James Dyson Award offers substantial prize money to help get an idea off the ground, but it’s also a platform: somewhere for young people to show their ideas to the world and attract attention. One of the first winners of the Award, back in 2006, was a young man called Yusuf Muhammad who won the competition with his idea for a domestic fire sprinkler system retrofitted to kitchen taps. He went on to set up his own company – Plumis – to sell the technology, and now employs 20 people and sells internationally. Last year he was even awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation – the UK’s highest accolade for business success. So the James Dyson Award can really act as a catalyst, helping these bright minds with an urge to improve our lives to realise their ambitions.

“This feels like the right moment to bring our technology to India – our air purifiers, humidifiers, vacuum cleaners and hair dryer. We focus on developing high performing core technology which sits at the core of our machines and we are confident that this can help to improve the everyday lives of Indian consumers. We anticipate that India could quickly be among our top five markets Asian markets. We are keen to learn and refine our products as we go and are carrying out research in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore,” Sir Dyson told Business Insider in an exclusive chat.

The James Dyson Award prize money should be used to support the winner in further developing their idea, helping them along the road to commercialization.