Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF) is actively supporting local innovation and emerging tech businesses through strategic partnerships, particularly with the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID).

The foundation's support encompasses a range of resources including financial assistance, research, technology, human capital, and connections to high-net-worth individuals, venture capitalists, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

In the fiscal year 2023-2024, HHSIF provided support to 13 innovations, which included 8 startups and 5 entrepreneurs-in-residence, focusing on sectors such as agri-tech, clean-tech, health-tech, and green-tech.

Notably, 50% of the ventures supported in this fiscal year were in the MedTech sector, while 20% were in AgriTech, highlighting a significant participation of female founders in three of the startups.

Among the innovations, Green Collar Agritech Solutions introduced 'TARAM', an instant quality assessment tool for turmeric that utilizes Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Machine Learning to help farmers achieve better pricing.

The company is also planning to expand TARAM for chilli quality assessment, targeting over 3 million farmers with a rollout scheduled for January 2025, just in time for the chilli season in India.

In the health-tech space, Translead Medtech Private Limited, a deep-tech startup from IISc, Bengaluru, developed 'Stand at Ease', a chair designed to assist the elderly with joint problems, priced starting at Rs 25,000.

Open MedLabs has made strides in diabetes care by creating an affordable insulin pump for Type 1 diabetes patients, aiming to equip 25% of insulin-dependent diabetics in low- and middle-income countries in South East Asia within a decade, with human trials expected to complete by the second quarter of 2025.

India's startup ecosystem is thriving, currently ranking as the third-largest globally with over 100,000 startups and 100 unicorns, and is projected to become the second-largest by 2030.